Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard Complete the First Pasteurization Test. https://worldhistoryproject.org/1862/4/20/louis-pasteur-and-claude-bernard-complete-the-first-pasteurization-test
Latest Update on the #CoronavirusCOVID19 epidemic:
03/15/20 *****RED ALERT: Stage 3 in France: As of 8 PM (Paris time), France has recorded 127 deaths and 5,423 cases of infected patients. THIS MARKS THE HIGHEST INCREASE (IN ONE DAY) OF CONTAMINATED PATIENTS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. France is now bracing for a massive attack of the virus…
LIFE SAVINGS GUIDELINES: STAY HOME. WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP FREQUENTLY. DON’T CALL THE EMERGENCY SERVICE NUMBER 15 (CALL YOUR PHYSICIAN FOR HELP) UNLESS REALLY NECESSARY.
03/14/20 *****RED ALERT: Stage 3 in France: As of 8 PM (Paris time), France has recorded 91 deaths (71 deceased over the age of 75) and 4,500 cases of infected patients (300 patients in extremely serious condition), thus doubling the number of cases in the last 72 hours). Due in part to the lack of discipline from the French citizens who are not respecting the basic hygiene and social distancing measures dictated by their government… As of midnight tonight (Paris time), all public places including all restaurants, cafés, night clubs, non essential businesses and stores will be closed until further notice. City halls, supermarkets, pharmacies, banks and gas stations will remain open.
Italy: 2nd most infected country with the virus after China counts 1,441 deaths and 21,000 cases as of tonight.
03/13/20 PM: Stage 2 in France: As of 8 PM (Paris time), France has recorded 79 deaths and 3,661 cases of infected patients, now under quarantine. All day care centers, schools, colleges & universities closed as of March 16, 2020 until further notice. Classes conducted on line.
03/11/20 PM: Stage 2 in France: As of tonight, France has recorded 48 deaths and 2,281 cases of infected patients, now under quarantine. No visit from relatives allowed for any of the 600,000 elderly living in the 7,000 retirement homes (known as AHPAD). In Corsica, where 3 people already died from the virus, all schools are now closed until March 29.
03/11/20 AM: Stage 2 in France: 33 deaths and 1,784 cases of infected patients, including the French Minister of Culture, now under quarantine, and recorded as of today.
Italy: 168 deaths to date as 60 million Italians have been told to stay home by their Prime Minister.
USA: Exact number of deaths and cases of infected patients nationwide and in U.S. territories still undetermined as of today because…
“The most egregious level of incompetence in an admin. that I think we’ve witnessed … absolute gross, amateur hour incompetence coming out of the White House.” MSNBC @MSNBC · 03/07/20
– Dr. Irwin Redlener, Dir. of Columbia University’s National Center For Disaster Preparedness
Meanwhile… To keep us better educated on the origins of the #coronavirus and the best ways to prevent it, here are the latest news from the INSTITUT PASTEUR in PARIS, France, working non stop as their dedicated medical teams of expert researchers are now using the measles vaccine as the backbone to develop a vaccine candidate against the #coronavirus. According to the INSTITUT PASTEUR PARIS, France, the said vaccine they are working on could be available in September 2020 at the earliest… (Washed) Fingers crossed! E.J.
Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
In December 2019, an outbreak of apparently viral pneumonia of unknown etiology emerged in the city of Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei. On January 9, 2020, the Chinese health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) officially announced the discovery of a novel coronavirus (first named 2019-nCoV, then officially SARS-Cov2, which differs from the viruses SARS-CoV, responsible for the SARS outbreak in 2003, and MERS-CoV, responsible for an ongoing outbreak that began in 2012 in the Middle East). This new virus is the pathogen responsible for this infectious respiratory disease called COVID-19 (CoronaVIrus Disease).
Updated on March 11, 2020, at 11.30 am (Paris, France, time)
By March 10, 2020 (10.00 am CET), according to the WHO*, 113,702 cases have been confirmed globally for the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov2, including 80,924 in China. 32,778 cases have been reported outside of China in 109 different countries. To date, there have been 3,140 deaths in China and 872 outside of China. By the end of February, 2020, two months after its appearance in China, the epidemic seemed to have peaked there. On March 9, 2020, the Chinese authorities announced the reopening of some public places and the closure of field hospitals, while the number of new cases is sharply decreasing in the country.
During the weekend of February 22-23, 2020, the epidemic situation evolved worldwide with the intensification of outbreaks in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, and the appearance of new outbreaks in Iran and Italy. In these countries, we are witnessing a community transmission with no identified link with cases imported from China.
In France, on March 10, 2020 (3.00 pm CET), according to the French national public health agency Santé publique France**, 1,784 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed. 33 patients died. The others are diagnosed and cared for in hospitals, or cured and discharged from hospital.
On March 10, 2020, all countries of the European Union are now affected by COVID-19.
Cause
This pneumonia is an infectious disease caused by a virus belonging to the coronavirus family, currently referred to as SARS-Cov2. The reservoir of the virus is probably of animal origin, even if SARS-Cov2 is very close to a virus detected in a bat, the animal at the origin of the transmission to humans has not yet been definitely identified.
Symptoms
- The duration of incubation is an average of 5 days, with extremes of 2 to 12 days. The onset of symptoms appears gradually over several days, unlike the flu which starts suddenly.
- The first symptoms are not very specific: headache, muscle pain, fatigue/tiredness. Fever and respiratory signs occur secondarily, often two or three days after the first symptoms.
- In the first descriptive studies from China, an average of one week elapsed between the onset of the first symptoms and admission to the hospital in the disease phase. At this stage, the symptoms combine fever, cough, chest pains and respiratory discomfort. The performance of a chest scanner almost always shows pneumonia affecting both lungs.
- The severity of clinical signs requires that approximately 20% of patients remain in hospital and 5% require admission to intensive care. The most serious forms are observed mainly in people who are vulnerable because of their age (over 70) or associated diseases.
- Specific observational studies (such as the one carried out on passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship) as well as modeling work have shown that the infection can be asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic (causing little or no clinical manifestations) in 30 to 60% of infected subjects.
Transmission
Most of the initially described cases concerned people who had been to a market selling live animals. The leading hypothesis is therefore that the virus is a zoonosis (a disease transmitted by animals). Human-to-human transmission is established and it is estimated that, in the absence of control and prevention measures, each patient infects between 2 and 3 people.
How is it diagnosed?
A diagnostic test for the COVID-19 coronavirus is carried out in all referral health establishments, in the case of suspicion of the disease by the SAMU (French emergency medical service) and by a referent infectiologist. This test concerns any person with signs of acute respiratory distress syndrome for which no etiology could be identified, without any notion of travel / stay in a risk exposure area or close contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19. In addition, the definition of close contact now includes all contact from 24 hours before the onset of symptoms in a confirmed case of Covid-19.
These definitions in France can change at any time, depending on the information available, and can be read on the Santé publique France website (page in French).
A specific diagnostic test, developed by the National Reference Center for Respiratory Viruses (Including Influenza) at the Institut Pasteur to detect the new virus via respiratory samples, is available in many hospitals across France.
Treatment
Patients potentially infected with SARS-Cov2 must be treated in one of the designated health facilities in France for treatment of possible cases. Referral to these sites is regulated in France by the centers “15” (French emergency phone number). There is currently no specific treatment – with demonstrated efficacy – against COVID-19. Treatment is therefore symptomatic.
Anyone showing signs of a serious acute respiratory infection (fever, cough, shortness of breath) after being exposed to a risk of contamination by SARS-CoV-2**, must dial 15 in France (French emergency phone number) ; experts will decide what to do. ***
Some frequently asked questions
- What is the animal reservoir?
A virus, 96% identical to SARS-Cov-2, has been identified in bats captured in China. The bat is therefore most likely the reservoir of the virus.
- How is the virus transmitted from animals to humans?
It is likely that a mammal served as an intermediate host between the bat and man. This intermediate animal is not identified with certainty, but the pangolin is suspected.
- Can the virus survive in the environment? And if so, for how long?
According to the available data, the survival of coronaviruses in the outdoor environment is only a few hours on dry inert surfaces. Given duration and conditions of transport between France and China, the risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV2 by touching an object imported from China is considered extremely low. Standard hygiene measures (hand washing, surface cleaning) are effective.
- How long is the incubation?
The duration of incubation is an average of 5 to 6 days, with extremes of 2 to 12 days, which justifies the quarantine period of 14 days.
- How is COVID-19 diagnosed in patients?
The diagnosis is suspected in front of signs of respiratory infection in a person returning from a place where the virus circulates, in the 14 days preceding the symptoms onset, according to the case definition of Santé publique France.
- What is the period of contagiousness?
Contagiousness seems to start with the appearance of symptoms, even a few days before for some people. This period of contagiousness would last longer in symptomatic people, especially when they cough.
International research efforts are continuing, including at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and in the Institut Pasteur International Network, to clarify the answers to these questions.
At the Institut Pasteur
In line with its mission to monitor influenza and respiratory viruses in France, the Institut Pasteur has mobilized its teams at the French National Research Center for Respiratory Viruses (Including Influenza) [page in French] and the Laboratory for Urgent Response to Biological Threats (CIBU) [page in French] to identify and confirm suspected cases of acute respiratory infection linked to the new coronavirus (SARS-Cov2).
On Friday, January 24, 2020, the National Reference Center for Respiratory Infections Virus (including influenza) confirmed the first three cases of patients affected by the SARS-Cov2 coronavirus on French territory. From these samples, the researchers were able to start sequencing the viral genome and have the complete sequence by Wednesday, January 29, allowing it to be compared with the twenty or so other sequences present in the world.
Learn more about whole genome sequencing of the novel coronavirus, SARS-Cov2 (then called 2019-nCov).
At the same time, the National Reference Center continued its work on samples in order to rapidly isolate the virus and make it available to researchers. Cell culture is a crucial step to allow further research work.
Learn more about the isolation of Coronavirus SARS-Cov2 (then called 2019-nCov) by researchers at the Institut Pasteur.
A Task Force has been set up at the Institut Pasteur (Paris) to respond to the urgency of this health crisis. This Task Force mobilizes the experts of the Institut Pasteur on various scientific areas:
- Understanding more about the virus and its pathogenesis;
- Developing new diagnostic tools and searching for antibodies that may have therapeutic applications;
- Vaccine development;
- Epidemiology and modeling to develop outbreak control strategies.
More: https://www.pasteur.fr/en/medical-center/disease-sheets/novel-coronavirus-covid-19
* To follow the latest news on the novel coronavirus, visit the World Health Organization website.
** To follow the evolution of current events in France, visit the website of the French Ministry in charge of health.
*** For the procedure to be followed in France, visit the Santé publique France website.
Set up on Saturday February 1st, a French freephone number for information on the coronavirus (0800 130 000)
https://www.pasteur.fr/en/medical-center/disease-sheets/novel-coronavirus-covid-19
VIDEO. Coronavirus : l’Institut Pasteur prépare un vaccin dérivé de celui de la rougeole
Mis à jour le publié le Extrait de “Coronavirus, la France en alerte”, un reportage à voir dans “Envoyé spécial” le 5 mars 2020. Où en est la recherche d’u