Virus 
 

Pandemic Politics

The corona virus outbreak is a pandemic but it looks like the response of some leaders has been rather slow.

By Dr. Mehreen Mujtaba | April 2020


The novel corona virus has killed thousands of people worldwide, the vast majority in mainland China, Italy and Iran.

Corona viruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). COVID-19 is a new strain that was discovered in December 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans.

Corona viruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known corona viruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

Common signs of corona virus infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

The standard recommendations to prevent spread of infection include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing, should also be avoided.

The current corona virus infection has joined the ranks of small pox, bubonic plague, HIV Aids and other infectious diseases that resulted in not only causing fear and dread among people but also resulted in high mortality and morbidity rates.

Evolutionary insights into the etiology of the disease suggest that bats are the natural hosts for all presently known corona viruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (SARS-CoV) which rattled the nerves of the world in 2003 as well as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) which was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. corona viruses are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to severe respiratory syndrome and can cause death in individuals with co-morbidities.

Although most human cases of infection with corona virus have been attributed to human-to-human infections via respiratory droplets while sneezing and coughing, scientific evidence suggests that civet cats, raccoons, ferret badgers and other wild animals are intermediate vectors for the spread of the disease from bats to humans.
Originating from the wet markets in Wuhan in China, this contagious infection has transcended borders and positive cases have been reported in most countries around the world. It has disrupted travel, cities have been quarantined and borders closed to international movement. The human cost of this pandemic continues to rise and it is wreaking havoc in the global economy.

Stock markets around the world plummeted to an all time low as a result, especially the US stock market that took a nosedive after seeing an all time boom in February. Economic experts predict global recession. The pandemic hit the world like a bomb and kept exploding, making it an almost war-like situation.

In his bestselling book, ‘Sapiens’, historian Yuval Noah Harari, said, “The epidemic doesn’t recognize borders. It doesn’t recognize differences in religion or political views.”

Few of today’s political leaders have ever faced anything like a pandemic, let alone its economic implications and fallouts. This is especially true for Pakistan’s ruling political party, which is not even experienced in dealing with the core business of the state. The corona virus situation has put a tremendous burden on the country’s already fragile health system and infrastructure. The government is realizing, though belatedly, that its existing health system is already showing signs of buckling down.

It seems the Pakistan government finally woke up from its inertia when it declared a ban on large gatherings, closed down schools and universities and did not allow spectators to enter stadiums during the PSL matches. However, their hesitance and uncertainty was likely to cost the country dearly, as was seen in Italy, Iran and South Korea. By the time the governments in these countries shut down schools and banned crowds, they were a tad too late. Pakistan too needs strict policies regarding prayer congregations, religious events, promoting the work-from-home culture and very strict quarantine measures in areas where the infection was found to be endemic. When politicians downplay a threat, they end up creating confusion, fear, distrust and unnecessary loss of lives.
Infectious diseases have historically been deemed as a tenacious stumbling block in public health. The range of their impact not only affects the health of individuals, but can also be felt on societies in the form of xenophobia arising from fear and uncertainty in economies and political systems.

Pandemics are quintessentially global occurrences and the world must learn to adapt to the changes brought about in the wake of the situation caused by the corona virus. Closer global cooperation in future must ensure that countries can share more information, technical assistance and support in a timely and more efficient manner.

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