AFVOA Newsletter 03 of 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 03 / 2020 Page 67 of 167 Sounds complicated? Doesn't matter!! What is important for us to understand is that the LIPID envelope gets easily dissolved by alcohol based sanitizers which kills the virus. VIRAL TRANSMISSION They are called “SUPER SPREADERS” because of high BRR (basic reproduction rate) and TRANSMISSION RATE = 1 > 3.5. What does this mean? Let's get into some high school math’s for a moment. What this number means is that one person can infect 3 persons at a time. These three persons will infect three more. Let's do the calculation - 3x3=9. That's only 9. However, here is where the magic starts. We have 9x3=27 ...43046 numbers get increased at such speed in a short time. This virus is not just a super spreader, but also a silent spreader!! It uses the asymptomatic patients to spread to the vulnerable ones to whom it creates havoc. Any person you see on the road should be considered a potential contact, who may not show any symptom now but has been exposed to the virus. It always gets serious or even tragic, when such an asymptomatic person easily transmits the virus load to the victim who may be an aged person with co-morbidities and he succumbs to it. The fatality rate can vary anywhere between 0.7- 9% and varies from country to country. This virus is very agile. It spreads in so many different ways. Virus spreads by droplets in the air called aerosols -cough, sneeze & also talking produces aerosol. Hence face shields & masks have become a necessity and an integral part of our lifestyle. Contaminated surfaces are also a source (fomites) so use of hand sanitisers & gloves and thorough hand washing for 20 seconds is a must besides washing any stuff bought in the shop, taking bath & changing clothes after returning home from work. How to break the transmission of virus? SMS is the answer S-sanitisers, M- Mask, S- social distancing meaning keep a distance of 6 meters away from anyone. Most important precaution was to avoid going to crowded places & a big “NO” to social gatherings. SYMPTOMS & PROGRESSION Now let's shift gears and discuss what happens when someone gets infected with the virus. Around 40-70% showed mild to moderate symptoms, 30% of severe cases needed ICU of which 15-20% went in for complications;