The new coronavirus is ten times more deadly than the virus responsible for the influenza A (H1N1) which appeared at the end of March 2009 in Mexico, indicated on Monday the world health authorities. They called for “slow” deconfinement.
“The data collected in several countries gives us a clearer picture of this virus, of its behavior, of how to stop it. We know that Covid-19 is spreading quickly and we know it’s deadly: ten times more than the virus responsible for the 2009 pandemic flu, “said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO). , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a virtual press conference from Geneva.
The pandemic of new coronavirus has killed nearly 115,000 people worldwide since its appearance in December in China according to a report established by AFP from official sources. Influenza A (H1N1) had killed 18,500 according to the WHO, but the medical journal The Lancet estimated the number of deaths between 151,700 and 575,400.
Need a vaccine
The pandemic caused by the A (H1N1) virus had given rise to massive vaccination campaigns. Afterwards, Western countries, in particular Europeans, and the WHO had been criticized for a mobilization deemed oversized whereas each year, the so-called seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000, according to world health authorities.
Pending a vaccine against the new SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus, WHO calls on countries to implement generalized detection of suspected cases, their isolation and follow-up of contacts.
But, admitted Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday, “the era of globalization means that the risk of re-introduction and resurgence of Covid-19 will continue”. In the end, “the development and distribution of a safe and effective vaccine will be necessary to completely stop transmission,” he said.
“Balance” to find
Faced with a shortage of tests, and while hospitals and other health centers are overwhelmed by cases, governments have implemented containment measures that have shut down whole swathes of the economy. But in recent days, there have been increasing pressures to revive the economic machine.
The head of the WHO stressed on Monday that “countries must strike a balance between measures to combat mortality from Covid-19 and other diseases caused by overwhelmed health systems, and socio-economic impacts Of the pandemic.
He nevertheless reiterated his call for a gradual lifting of containment measures, the WHO having already warned on Friday that a premature lifting of containment measures could lead to a “deadly resurgence” of the pandemic.
“We know that in some countries cases double every three to four days. While [la pandémie de] Covid-19 accelerates very quickly, it decelerates much more slowly, ”explained Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “This means that the measures must be lifted slowly, and with control,” he insisted. (ats / nxp)
Created: 13.04.2020, 20h39
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