MILAN (ITALPRESS) – “The zero risk does not exist”. This is the message of the virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, health director of the Ircss Ospedale Galeazzi – Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, interviewed by Claudio Brachino for the Primo Piano section of the Italpress agency. The debate on the Hantavirus is very topical, after the recent events concerning the cruise ship MV Hondius, and the news on a seal in Africa of the Ebola virus. I take it, before I get into detail and make clear about what’s going on, say: “Today we live in a context where there are too many news, there is a difficulty in making an idea, so the typhoseries are born, there is always alarmism, there is always a question also about science, fake news also to remove credibility to institutional activity, which must make choices, sometimes not completely shared by the community, but which have a general interest. The pandemics have been there for centuries, and we are exposed to further possibilities of spreading viruses.”
The associate professor of Hygiene General and Applied at the University of Milan explained that that of the Hantavirus “is an unpleasant situation in South America, in particular in Argentina, Chile, for a spread of rats that are carriers of the virus. The first case was infected with direct contact with the animal, feces and urine, in a degraded context. Then the episode became explosive, for the crocirista that has infected – added Pregliasco -. He lived with his wife and other cross-sections, and this variant of the virus, has a capacity to interact from person to person. We hope not everyone has been infected among the 150 cross-rectors, this virus has a 40-day incubation time.”
Pregliasco stressed that an important choice is to act “as in the fires. We’ll check them out if we block the outbreaker. If we let the oxes run, we saw him with Covid. At the international level, although with some distinction, nations have chosen a surveillance of all people who have a low risk. Italy has narrowed the shirts: we have 4 citizens who were on a flight” where there was an infected passenger, “I am in active surveillance and quarantine tight until 21 June, albeit with very low risk, so avoid spreading the disease”.
In the Italian case we talk about “low risk” because “they were for a short time on the same plane of the wife of the first case, the crocirista, but did not make all the long flight, that could be a greater risk. We must wait on June 21 because it is the maximum incubation period, it is an act of attention and precaution”. The virologist recalled, in order to avoid alarms, that “a pandemic plan has not been activated but a ministerial arrangement, a circular, it has been noted that this virus is a problem to keep under control.
The Hantavirus “has a mortality of 40%, it begins in a very nuanced way but then develops and determines heavy problems, similar to Covid, with this high mortality, unfortunately there is no specific therapy or a vaccine, for this is a disturbing thing. The disease of itself is severe, it is not very contagious, the contagion between people happens by extreme proximity, a prolonged contact”.
Different the Ebola speech: “A hemorrhagic disease, fortunately it has an uneffective transmission, typically comes from rural areas of Central Africa. It is mortal in 70% of cases and with a heavy symptomatology, also for this reason the cases are limited. This new epidemic is in a war zone between the Republic of the Congo and Uganda, it is spoken from 300 to 600 cases, and it is definitely understimata – the virologist explained -. The Oms has done well to give a general alarm communication, to reduce this potential diffusion.” To Pregliasco “this situation raises the problem of an interconnected world. The pandemicshave been in the past, with Covid we have not had the ability to react in time of peace and then we have had to face the problem in the emergency. Infectious diseases are there and there will be, institutions must coordinate in an interchange of immediate epidemiological information, and citizens must show responsibility in personal hygiene and the environment, do not lower the level of attention, citizens must be informed without alarms.”.
– Photo Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
