In 2002-2003, the world had faced an outbreak of the then “novel” infectious disease that caused serious social, political and economic disruptions in many countries across the world. The pathogen responsible was identified as a member of the coronavirus family hitherto unseen in humans, and was the cause of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS in short.
Overall, the contribution of 21st century science was relatively insignificant in controlling the SARS coronavirus. In fact, the public health toolbox relied on measures from the 19th century or even earlier, such as regular hand washing with soap, social distancing and restricted movements, which continued to prove their worth.
Yet another long-standing technique of using the serum of Covid-19 convalescing patients is being attempted at some clinical centres in the world.
The theory is simple, the antibody in their sera may neutralise the invading virus. Convalescent sera have been known to be used since the early 20th century to mitigate outbreaks of viral diseases like polio, measles, mumps and influenza.
The same technique was again drawn on during the 2011-2012 H1N1 influenza virus pandemic and 2013 West Africa Ebola epidemic. There appears to be a certain degree of success in using convalescent sera.
However, this method of passive antibody therapy has its limitations. It is unpredictable due to variability of the amount of antibodies in the sera of different patients. In addition, this form of therapy is thought to be useful as a protection against future invasion by the specific antigen, rather than as a weapon to fight the marauding virus in the infected patients.
Repurposing or repositioning of currently available drugs is also on the cards. Several anti-HIV drugs and a couple of anti-malarials are being tested as possible therapeutic agents against Covid-19.
In view of the lack of treatment options, Covid-19 is spreading like wildfire. The attack on humankind is relentless. The prospect of a definitive exit strategy is yet to be realised.
More than a quarter of a million people have died due to Covid-19 infection. No one, it seems, has raised the question of who exactly is responsible for the huge loss of these human lives.
In the meantime, countries are beginning to ease their restrictions, mostly for economic reasons. Popular rhetorical statements include “we shall come out of this disruption stronger”.
But while there may well be explicit strategies formulated to restart the economy rapidly to trigger the so-called “V” curve, little has been said on how future crises of the current gravity, especially due to infectious diseases, are to be mitigated.
The usual cliché of the proposed post-Covid-19 “new” norms are actually old and tested approaches, namely personal hygiene, putting on face masks, and praticising social distancing and restricted movement.
However, how about the bigger picture of public health and environmental cleanliness?
The 2002-2003 SARS coronavirus outbreak was the first deadly epidemic caused by a coronavirus, infecting more than 8,000 patients in 29 countries, and killing almost 800 of them.
There was a concerted global effort led by the World Health Organization to combat the pandemic. And within a period of less than a year, the SARS coronavirus somehow disappeared.
WHO came up with a book that details public health measures and scientific endeavours that were put into place to overcome the SARS-coronavirus pandemic. The book also outlines lessons learnt from the pandemic.
First, transparency of information and trust among nations is vital. Second, initial denial and downplaying of the extent of the viral transmission would hinder a strong public health and clinical response to stem the menace. And third, exotic animal husbandry and marketing practices may pose serious health hazards to the human.
The SARS coronavirus was presumed to have originated in animals, especially the Himalayan civets and raccoon dogs. In addition, evidence of the coronavirus infection was gathered from other marketplace species, including the cat, the red fox and the Chinese ferret badger.
Hence, it was important to change animal husbandry practices, otherwise more zoonotic diseases would jump from the animal world to man. Also, it would be vital to reform old, unhygienic and reckless gastronomic practices.
It seems that we have been sufficiently pre-warned. But since many did not take cognizance of the WHO advisory documents, the onset of SARS coronavirus 2.0 or Covid-19 was inevitable.
For the time being, we have to rely on the old and tested approaches. There is a high expectation that a vaccine will be made available in a few months, if not years. One may be available for emergency use by early 2021.
Why not try existing drugs that are being used for treatment of certain, perhaps related diseases, on Covid-19?
Abu Bakar Abdul Majeed is with the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR LIVE UPDATE OF THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA