Recently, the video clip of Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences Wang Fusheng answered " self-limited disease " was widely circulated online. Many netizens believe that based on the content on the video: the new coronavirus infection is a self-limited disease, and it can be "sustained" by the body's immunity, so there is no need for treatment or prevention and control.
Science and Technology Daily reporters found after inquiry that this video came from the State Council Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism press conference held at the State Information Office on February 21, 2020. When answering reporters' questions, Wang Fusheng clearly stated that self-limiting diseases do not mean that treatment is not required.
This popular science question and answer about "self-limited diseases" more than two years ago has attracted attention recently, but it has been nearly three years since the COVID-19 epidemic hit. Humans have a deeper understanding of the new coronavirus. Is the cognitive judgment at that time still applicable? Is the new coronavirus infection a self-limiting disease? If so, why do you still need treatment? Can you recover from a strong and strong recovery? With these questions in mind, the Science and Technology Daily reporter interviewed relevant experts.
Is the new coronavirus infection a self-limited disease?
Science and Technology Daily reporters have interviewed many experts that self-limiting diseases are not strictly defined in medicine. Generally, self-limiting diseases do not have chronic diseases or common mild symptoms.
Wang Guiqiang, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the First Hospital of Peking University, said that from an etiology point of view, there is currently no chronic disease in the new coronavirus infection, indicating that it can be cleared by the immune system in the body, so it is self-limiting.
Based on current research and understanding of the new coronavirus, Guo Wei, deputy director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, believes that the new coronavirus has not been found to be integrated into the human genome, nor has the virus been found to exist in a certain organ for a long time. From this level, the new coronavirus is self-limiting .
But Wang Guiqiang also pointed out that the human damage caused by the new coronavirus can be "self-limited", but the associated harm it induces is difficult to "self-limited" and standardized treatment is still needed.
"At present, a few patients infected with the new coronavirus will have worsening their condition. If there is an underlying disease, it will cause other diseases, resulting in severe illness or even death." Wang Guiqiang said. Why do you need to isolate and observe in time after
is infected with the new coronavirus?
Since it is a self-limiting disease, why does the new coronavirus infection still require timely isolation, observation and symptomatic treatment?
Severe illnesses and deaths show that the damage to organs caused by the new coronavirus is difficult to "limit" and requires timely treatment. School of Life Sciences and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, , Dean of Tong Yigang, also believes that for specific groups, new coronary pneumonia may be a very dangerous disease and has a risk of death.
"The new coronavirus is very contagious, and all infected cases need observation and care. On the one hand, the isolation observation and symptomatic treatment can block the spread of the virus in a timely manner, and on the other hand, it is convenient for real-time observation to avoid the worsening of the disease." Wang Guiqiang emphasized that once the new coronavirus is infected, it is necessary to go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in a timely manner.
Therefore, in the process of diagnosis and treatment of new coronary pneumonia, my country has been implementing classified treatment. According to the "Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for the New Coronavirus Pneumonia (Trial Ninth Edition)", symptomatic treatment and condition monitoring are provided for mild cases. If the condition worsens, it should be transferred to designated hospitals for treatment, and key treatments should be implemented for patients with severe, critical and high-risk factors.
"Once the new coronavirus is infected, effective isolation will avoid the risk of further transmission, which is the key to the prevention and control of infectious diseases." Wang Guiqiang said that although the infection of the new coronavirus is a self-limited disease, people with high risk of severe illness should still be intervened as soon as possible to reduce the risk of severe illness and death. It is very wrong to believe that "the new coronavirus infection is a self-limited disease, so you don't need to go to the hospital to see it, and you can just stand at home and get over it."
Common self-limiting diseases such as hepatitis A, influenza, measles, etc. all require treatment
Guo Wei said: "General viral infections are mostly self-limiting. For example, hepatitis A virus, influenza virus, measles virus, etc. all meet the definition of self-limiting, but they all need treatment."
"It is not that there are fewer 'self-limiting' viruses, but because the human immune system has a strong removal ability."Guo Wei said that, with exceptions such as hepatitis B virus and HIV, their genes can be integrated with human DNA to evade the immune system and cause chronic infection. Hepatitis C virus can even be hidden in human liver cells.
"Influenza virus is a typical self-limiting disease, but it also requires treatment. "Wang Guiqiang said that through real-time observation and targeted treatment, the virus can be removed from the body as soon as possible, so as to avoid it from destroying the body's balance and inducing serious symptoms such as organ failure.
Original title: Expert interpretation: How to understand that new coronary pneumonia is a self-limited disease
Source: Science and Technology Daily
