Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) Infectious Diseases Consultant Dr. Aun Raza while talking to journalists about potential coronavirus pandemic shared that the hospital has taken several steps to prepare for a potential outbreak.
In December 2019, WHO was alerted by the Chinese government about a new type of coronavirus which has been temporarily named as the 2019-nCoV. So far, over 7,000 people have been affected, mostly in China, and 170 have died. In today’s time when air travel has made any outbreak a global threat, WHO has urged countries to be ready to detect coronavirus cases, isolate, and treat the sick patients.
“Being a cancer hospital, SKMCH&RC hosts immune compromised patients who are at high-risk of developing complications from flu and therefore, the Hospital takes steps to educate staff as well as the patients about how to protect themselves and others. At this point in time, prevention is the best cure against coronavirus. It is an airborne virus so it is important for someone who has symptoms of upper respiratory tract illness in addition to a history of recent contact with China, to avoid visiting public places and seek medical care” Dr Aun added further.
Talking about the preventive measures, Dr. Aun stated that “In order to protect yourself and others, wear a mask, sneeze or cough in the crook of your elbow or use tissue paper and dispose it off properly, practice hand-hygiene regularly which means wash your hands with soap and water or disinfect using alcohol based hand sanitizer. It is important to understand that the mortality rate for this virus so far is 3% which means that people recover from this illness however; we must make efforts to protect vulnerable people who are at high risk such as pregnant women, older people, and those who have other underlying conditions that make them immune compromised.”
Dr. Aun Raza said that, “SKMCH&RC has the nation’s largest pathology laboratory and it is in the process of acquiring diagnostic facilities that will be able to detect this novel type of virus in the upcoming weeks. The Hospital recently conducted an epidemic drill which is an annual drill practiced for safety of staff and its patients. It helps to ensure that anyone who could potentially come into contact with an infected patient, from the guard at the door to the staff in negative pressure isolation rooms, is prepared to manage an outbreak”.
