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Photo 10Dr. Jaunius Urbonavičius. Photo from personal album
There is a conspiracy theory about the origin of the virus that could have been created in a laboratory and spread accidentally or intentionally. A scientific article in the journal Nature Medicine states that the binding of the virus to the receptor through which it enters the cell is not ideal. Furthermore, genetic data on the virus shows that it is not based on an already known virus. Due to the greater similarity between the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the bat-like viruses, they are believed to be human reservoirs. Java jams (Manis javanica, similar to armadillos and ants) have also been found to have the most similar human receptor binding domain. Glycosylation of a receptor-binding protein could also not result from culturing the virus in cell cultures in the laboratory because it requires an immune system. For these reasons, the virus is not believed to have been created in a laboratory.
As the virus spreads worldwide, countries are trying to control its spread so that it does not overload the countries’ medical systems and all critically ill patients can be treated in hospitals. Some countries do better, others worse. Taiwan is one of the countries with very low morbidity rates. This 23 million. population of the country, having made more than 60 thousand. evidence, having so far recorded 429 cases and 6 deaths. JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) described measures aimed at preventing the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering the island. These include integrating a health database with immigration and customs databases to identify disease risk for foreign travelers and quarantine controls over mobile phones. Government and military funds were also subordinated to the production of protective masks. January 20 The government of this country had 44 million. surgical masks, 1.9 million. N95 standard respirator and 1100 negative pressure chambers. The SARS outbreak helped prepare the country very well. The National Center for Health Management was established.
We are currently in the midst of a pandemic that will pass with more or less loss. It is already raising serious political, economic, or even existential questions. What is better in the face of such dangers: the eastern hand of power or western human freedoms? North distance or south proximity between people?
We can see that after the initial shock, when the borders were closed and all countries began to get as tough as they wanted to buy the necessary tests, protective equipment and lung ventilators, and there was not enough evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in Lithuania, the situation improved significantly. Sufficient reagents were brought to Lithuania for analysis, allowing analysis to be carried out not only at the National Public Health Laboratory (NSPL), but also at regional hospitals and national institutes. Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics, a company operating in Vilnius, has also started producing test kits. Intersurgical, a Pabradė-based company, has begun manufacturing respirators for medical protection.
Another important aspect of the impact of this pandemic is, of course, the economy. The Lithuanian government has announced an economic rescue plan, and has also promised to allocate billions of euros to revitalize the EU economy. In a month or two, after the peak in the number of cases, the government will have to maneuver between controlling the virus and resuming economic activity. The psychological effect will be very important here so that people are not afraid to return to their normal activities. We see that when China opens shops, cafes, factories, people still behave very cautiously. Quarantine may affect communication habits for a long time, and returning to daily work may be slow and controlled.
Another pandemic of this level is likely to occur in a few decades or a hundred years. The last was the “Spanish” flu in 1918-1920, when 50-100 million people died. people With the advent of antibiotics and antiviral drugs, the development of vaccine production methods, and online technologies that enable effective quarantine of infected people, we have a much better chance of preventing large numbers of victims now and in the future. . To do this, responsible institutions and society must learn the lessons of the past and present.
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