Anthony Fauci calls coronavirus 'worst nightmare' as compared to Ebola, HIV

US top infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci said that coronavirus is his “worst nightmare” when compared to Ebola and HIV. Speaking at Biotechnology Innovation Organization International Convention via a recorded video, Dr Fauci said that Ebola was scary but the transmission rate was low and HIV transmission depended on an individual’s way of living.

The 79-year-old immunologist said that he always feared a novel respiratory infection likely to jump from an animal and had a very high degree of transmissibility. He said that the world has seen virus outbreaks in the past which possesses some of those characteristics but COVID-19 had all those characteristics combined.

“Now we have something that turned out to be my worst nightmare. In the period of four months, it has devastated the world,” said Dr Fauci, also a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

According to Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 data, over 7.24 million coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide with more than 411,200 deaths related to it so far. The United States has been the worst-affected nation with nearly 2 million cases of coronavirus and over 112,006 deaths, the highest across the globe.

Read: Dr Fauci Warns Against Reopening America Too Soon, Says There Might Be An Infection Spike

'Not over yet'

Fauci said that it was unexpected how rapidly it took over the planet and it is not over yet. The infectious diseases expert, who also serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that the long-term negative impact of the disease is still unknown due to the limited experience with the virus.

"We don't know the extent of full recovery or partial recovery, so there's a lot we need to learn," he said.

Last week, Dr Fauci said that he was no longer in frequent contact with President Donald Trump following his statement on the easing of restrictions. Fauci said that not only the task force meetings didn’t occur frequently but his meetings with Trump have also been “dramatically decreased”. 

Read: Dr Anthony Fauci To Testify Before US Senate Despite Self-quarantine & Trump's Protests