LDC
On est tous des pangolins
I know right. How the fuck can anyone who works in the NHS be confident we'll be able to cope with a large number of infected people? Normal winter pressures and it's touch and go whether it will collapse.
Coronavirus - worldwide breaking news, discussion, stats, updates and more
- Thread starter weltweit
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I know right. How the fuck can anyone who works in the NHS be confident we'll be able to cope with a large number of infected people? Normal winter pressures and it's touch and go whether it will collapse.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
We've been lucky so far as it's been a winter barely worthy of the name. But it seems to be peak time all year round in hospitals these days.
elbows
Well-Known Member
The flu peaked early in the UK this season, so at least a chunk of that burden is already in the past. I assume this is why the 'hospitals struggling to cope' stories came earlier in the season this time too.
There has been a bit of winter excess mortality though, but not anything like to the same degree as in a bad flu season.
A few of the charts from this weeks flu report (https://assets.publishing.service.g...kly_national_influenza_report_week_5_2020.pdf )
Supine
Newt Member
Roche have developed diagnostic equipment already
www.bloomberg.com
Although there are reports that it is proving difficult to get them into locked down cities at the moment.
Roche’s New Coronavirus Test Could Speed Patient Screening
Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said it’s introducing the first commercial test for the Wuhan coronavirus, which could help accelerate efforts to monitor the spread of the disease.
www.bloomberg.com
Although there are reports that it is proving difficult to get them into locked down cities at the moment.
Baronage-Phase
Well-Known Member
Do they know how long the virus can live on surfaces?
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Oh no I just want to see the pattern of infections remains the same. I am not worked up about anything.
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elbows
Well-Known Member
Roche have developed diagnostic equipment already
Roche’s New Coronavirus Test Could Speed Patient Screening
Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said it’s introducing the first commercial test for the Wuhan coronavirus, which could help accelerate efforts to monitor the spread of the disease.
Although there are reports that it is proving difficult to get them into locked down cities at the moment.
That type of test has been around for over 2 decades, including commercially. I dont know how long Roches version of the equipment has been around but its not new by any means.
When I say that, I'm talking about the various lab equipment used to be able to perform this type of testing.
So likely what they really mean is that they now also offer the appropriate Real-time PCR arrays to use with their existing range of equipment to detect this coronavirus. I expect that even before they offered this bit themselves, labs could still use their equipment to do this, they just needed the right primers/probes, and China had quickly come up with initial versions of these. But obviously its always useful to have multiple sources of supply, and to have manufacturers of the lab equipment used in the process fully on board.
Anyway this is a subject that I dont have direct lab experience of so it would be easy for me to get something wrong. Take my use of terminilogy with a pinch of salt. Mind you, I did skim through instructions provided by the CDC for performing this sort of test in relation to the new coronavirus. Some of the existing Roche equipment and kits I mentioned are listed in the Nucleic Acid Extraction section.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China.
How reassuring it is to note that the world of silly product names and marketing is alive and well in this sector, but bleach will still do the job!
- Acceptable surface decontaminants
- DNAZapTM (Life Technologies, cat. #AM9890)
- DNA AwayTM (Fisher Scientific; cat. #21-236-28)
- RNAse AwayTM (Fisher Scientific; cat. #21-236-21
- 10% bleach (1:10 dilution of commercial 5.25-6.0% sodium hypochlorite)
elbows
Well-Known Member
Not this coronavirus in particular, but Im sure its expected to be the same as other coronaviruses where some of this research has been done in the past. I spoke about it the other day, though I am miles away from actually finding all the researh available on the subject.
Can certainly say that how long it can survive on surfaces and infect people is dependent on at least the following factors, and maybe some I dont know about:
What material the surface is made of.
Temperature.
Humidity.
Amount of virus deposited.
What sort of biological substances the gunk consists of apart from the virus itself.
The UK coach company seem tho have gone for 10 days as a period to leave their coaches unused after they have been deep cleaned. I expect this goes quite far beyond the scientific basis for caution. I expect the risk of infection from surfaces falls rather rapidly, there may be some virus left after several days, or maybe even 5 days with the right material, temperature and humidity, but whether it still exists at that time period in sufficient quantities to infect people is debatable.
Much of the emphasis regarding surfaces in real world infection-prevention is on suitable cleaning regimes, rather than how long the nasties will lurk if the cleaning isnt done. That and some attempts to promote the use of specific surface materials that arent kind to viruses or bacteria in various healthcare settings and some other environments with high public footfall rates. In terms of this latter stuff being promoted in ways that were somewhat visible to the public, go back some years to the focus on MRSA and measures to stop it lurking in hospitals etc.
elbows
Well-Known Member
It doesnt sound like the UK health authorities want to officially release much info about the specifics of positive cases. In this case some additional info is available in the media because the suspected cases falling ill at a hotel in York was already reported on before the test came back positive.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Aha I hadn't heard anything about this hotel in York. Hopefully they will be tracing anyone this couple came into contact with.
I’ve seen BSE, Ebola, SARS, swine flu and bird flu come and go in my lifetime alone. The corona virus will amount to even less.
Baronage-Phase
Well-Known Member
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andysays
Love and solidarity
Pretty sure I read yesterday that more people have now died as a result of the corona virus than from SARS, so I won't pay too much attention to your ill informed nonsense
Combustible
Well-Known Member
More confirmed to be infected, not died.
andysays
Love and solidarity
Thanks for the correction
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I suppose it could emerge anywhere. It existed in December, travel was unrestricted and some people could have had it and thought they only had a mild flu, in that time it could have travelled far and wide.
We know people can be infectious for 14 days before they show symptoms, but for how long overall can they be infectious? Presumably while they have the flu like symptoms they are still infectious, what about after that?
We know people can be infectious for 14 days before they show symptoms, but for how long overall can they be infectious? Presumably while they have the flu like symptoms they are still infectious, what about after that?
elbows
Well-Known Member
Sounds like some staff at the hotel committed one of the big sins in the field of public health communication:
From the Guardian live updates page at Coronavirus live updates: returning Britons arrive at Wirral for quarantine
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Coronavirus: What it does to the body
What is it like to have the coronavirus, how will it affect you and how is it treated?
www.bbc.co.uk
T & P
|-o-| (-o-) |-o-|
Further to what elbows has said, it probably makes sense to carry a hand sanitiser on you and clean your hands regularly when out and about, especially if you commute by public transport or are likely to touch door handles, hand railings etc at public buildings. Masks are good to a degree but if you take it off when you arrive at work or back home and then touch your face before washing your hands the mask will have been for nothing.
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Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Ohh Wowcher you twats
Just had this as part of an offers email
Just had this as part of an offers email
Supine
Newt Member
Well that's kind of obvious isn't it. It's the setup to detect this particular virus in a couple of hours that's the key here. The existing test methods in China are overloaded hence the emergency development and shipment of new equipment.
maomao
普費斯
SARS and BSE killed hundreds. Bird flu and Ebola tens of thousands and swine flu hundreds of thousands. They've destroyed lives and communities. You just haven't caught any of them yet.
cupid_stunt
Chief seagull hater & farmerbarleymow's nemesis.
elbows
Well-Known Member
There isnt much I am treating as obvious on this thread. And I certainly wont be assuming that there is new equipment involved in this (extra quantities of equipment yes, new models of equipment no). How long this sort of test with this sort of equipment takes to perform is not new either. Its good to know when providers can quickly offer more capacity to those that need it, and I'm not trying to downplay the usefulness of additional capacity.
But this stuff is the business press, journalism by press release, its advertising and marketing, its spin. There will be little nuggets of interesting reality in there but I have to go out of my way to learn stuff about the broader subject in order to even begin to differentiate between what is actually new and improved, and what is just hype. And I'm not going to get it all right, so I wont go down this track too often, rest assured.
