What isn't being talked about as much is how quickly they managed to identify the cluster of symptoms (basically generic viral respiratory tract infection sx) in the middle of flu season, and to isolate and sequence this new virus in a few weeks is pretty damn impressive.
The initial paper detailing the process of discovery can be found here:
More importantly, the speed with which national authorities have moved to respond to this epidemic is day and night compared to sars; and while there seem to have been questions around how quickly information on the ground in Wuhan were transmitted back to national authorities (potentially delaying national level responses), I think the degree of openness and the brisk move to install national level authorities to begin managing things on the ground is a reflection of a streamlined organizational structure.
Tracking this from what experts are saying online, I think the goal in the immediate future is to:
1. Develop an easier point of care diagnosis system (the current ones available are more complex and time demanding than preferable)
2. While the above is being done, have more capacity to diagnose patients in the interim using existing methods
3. Track the degree of human to human transmission/virulence/R0
4. Track any potential mutations of the virus if it occurs
5. A longshot -- develop a vaccine for the new virus, but as with many new viruses that is unlikely
6. Close down known hotspots on a case to case basis
And of course, the above must be done in a way that key information is conveyed to the public in a calm manner with adequate transparency.
From what I can see, the above all seems to be being done pretty well so far.
The actual fatality of the disease is not really something that people can alter and as a viral illness you can't give antibiotics, and antivirals aren't the silver bullet you're looking for either.
For viral conditions you give supportive measures, and it'll be the person's pre-existing comorbidities that will likely determine their eventual outcome.
The initial paper detailing the process of discovery can be found here:
More importantly, the speed with which national authorities have moved to respond to this epidemic is day and night compared to sars; and while there seem to have been questions around how quickly information on the ground in Wuhan were transmitted back to national authorities (potentially delaying national level responses), I think the degree of openness and the brisk move to install national level authorities to begin managing things on the ground is a reflection of a streamlined organizational structure.
Tracking this from what experts are saying online, I think the goal in the immediate future is to:
1. Develop an easier point of care diagnosis system (the current ones available are more complex and time demanding than preferable)
2. While the above is being done, have more capacity to diagnose patients in the interim using existing methods
3. Track the degree of human to human transmission/virulence/R0
4. Track any potential mutations of the virus if it occurs
5. A longshot -- develop a vaccine for the new virus, but as with many new viruses that is unlikely
6. Close down known hotspots on a case to case basis
And of course, the above must be done in a way that key information is conveyed to the public in a calm manner with adequate transparency.
From what I can see, the above all seems to be being done pretty well so far.
The actual fatality of the disease is not really something that people can alter and as a viral illness you can't give antibiotics, and antivirals aren't the silver bullet you're looking for either.
For viral conditions you give supportive measures, and it'll be the person's pre-existing comorbidities that will likely determine their eventual outcome.
