Indians don't need to panic yet about coronavirus, says leading researcher Gagandeep Kang

Four of five people who have tested positive for coronavirus will get better on ir own and re is need for Indians to panic about viral outbreak yet, says a leading Indian researcher and scientist.

Testing for disease should also be done only when recommended, said Gagandeep Kang as number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 29, including 16 Italian tourists as well as three patients in Kerala who have recovered.

“Please let public health authorities kw about exposure to kwn infected persons or travel to areas where infections are kwn to be prevalent,” Christian Medical College professor, who last year became first Indian woman to be elected fellow of Royal Society in London, told PTI in an interview.

ting that all treatments are t curative but only supportive at moment, she said four of five people will get better on ir own and may need thing more than drugs like paracetamol for fever and cough.

“ fifth person may need to see a doctor or be hospitalised. If you have breathing difficulty, you should see a doctor as soon as possible,” said Kang, also vice-chair of rway-based International Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Invations (CEPI) that aims to derail epidemics by speeding up development of vaccines.

“For everyone, re is need to worry too much or panic. We are exposed to viruses every day. Make sure you wash your hands well, wipe down or use disinfectants on surfaces. Avoid touching your face,” she said.

coronavirus (CoV) is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from common cold to acute respiratory syndromes. COVID-19 that has killed over 3,000 people worldwide and infected more than 90,000 is a vel strain t seen before.

World Health Organisation has already declared outbreak a ”global emergency”, stopping short of terming it a pandemic.

se and throat swabs are used as specimens for detecting coronavirus. test takes at least 12-24 hours for confirmation. It a gene-based assay called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a more sensitive form called reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR).

According to Kang, kwn for her inter-disciplinary research studying transmission, development and prevention of intestinal infections, re are still more cases of flu in India and around world than of COVID-19.

“This is important to kw and understand. It looks like this infection causes diseases that are more severe than flu, but less severe than SARS," she said.

At moment, it seems that COVID-19, unlike flu, does t cause severe disease in children.

“It does, however, cause more severe disease in elderly, and in people who have cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes,” said Kang, who was awarded prestigious Infosys Prize in Life Sciences in 2016.

She said many drugs against viral infection are being tested, including vaccines which may be ready by next year.

“re are currently vaccines, but re are many in development. If all goes well with vaccine development efforts we might have a vaccine next year. But vaccine candidates do t always succeed,” she said.

Kang emphasised that people must inform public health authorities if y suspect y have been exposed to virus.

She also advised people to work from home if y have a fever and a cough.

“Stay six-10 feet away from people who are coughing or sneezing,” she said.

“Remember that with most respiratory viruses, most people exposed and sick with relatively mir symptoms recover and have some protection against reinfection,” she said.

Kang added that with vel coronavirus, getting infected does t mean that every infected person will be severely ill.

scientist is also executive director of Translational Health Science and Techlogy Institute (THSTI), an automous institution of Department of Biotechlogy.