No foolproof way to detect coronavirus infected people
Thai people have been warned to be on high alert for the Wuhan coronavirus as there was no perfect screening procedure to detect infected people as of now, Prof Teerawat Hemachuta, the head of Health Science Centre of Emerging Diseases at Chulalongkorn Hospital, said on Friday (January 24).
“Patient screening presently is at the highest monitoring level” he said. “However if people are infected by the virus, it will take a few days before they show symptoms such as fever. An infected person can pass screening if they are in the undetected period of the disease.”
The coronavirus spreads easily through breath and secretion. The people most at risk are those working in airports and medical staff who screen patients.
The coronavirus causes severe pneumonia like the 2009 flu pandemic. Presently, researchers are developing a vaccine against the disease.
Teerawat suggested that people protect themselves from the disease by eating cooked food, using a fork and spoon and washing the hands regularly. Besides, he advised people to wear a medical mask when they are in crowded places.
In addition, he said the Department of Disease Control’s director-general and Food and Drug Administration’s secretary-general had discussed recently the preparation of an antiretroviral drug to tackle the situation created by the coronavirus.
