The current coronavirus outbreak prompted us to start a blog in order to share our thoughts on infectious diseases and other topics that might be of interest to our readers.
This blog will be published on a sporadic schedule, depending on topics.
First, let’s deal with COVID-19:
- Don’t panic!
- Face masks don’t protect.
- Washing your hands regularly does help to avoid infection.
- When coughing or sneezing use a tissue to cover nose and mouth, afterwards dispose of the tissue.
- Keep a certain distance and avoid hugging and kissing everybody.
- Avoid touching your face with your hands.
- If you suspect an infection, seek medical help.
- If you know you are infected, don’t panic, stay at home. This is a kind of personal quarantine measure: You help impede spreading the disease. In most cases the infection results in a mild disease.
- Should your symptoms become more severe, seek medical help.
- Should you not yet be vaccinated against Influenza, please go and get vaccinated. The symptoms of Influenza infections and COVID-19 are similar. If you are vaccinated, Influenza maybe excluded as the culprit.
- And don’t forget: Frequently washing your hands with soap or a comparable detergent does help. Washing your hands means to rub your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds in a way that all the skin is covered with the foamy soap, especially between the fingers, and do not forget your thumbs.
- If this is not enough for you, you may use hand disinfectant.
A possible vaccine against the current coronavirus is still far away, vaccine development takes its time. Even if a vaccine will be at hand at last, it will be too late for the current epidemic. The same is true for therapeutic medication. The latter is our area of expertise. sajo is identifying antiviral agents to a number of viruses. However, development of such drugs and medication again takes years, but in the end will help to prepare for upcoming infectious threats.
For now, stay tuned and don’t panic,
Sabine and Joerg