An epidemic spreads most easily when people are unaware of its symptoms, mode of transmission and morbidity. Worse, when ineffective measures are used to combat the disease its spread is again assured. IMCRA is mobilizing to respond globally to the COVID-19 crisis via continuously updated native-language medical education video modules using internationally-accessible smartphone technology. The translated CDC-based info blitz is aimed at both medical professionals and lay people.
Two months ago a novel coronavirus was identified as a major health threat in China. The first reported case of COVID-19 ("COVI" - coronavirus, "D" - disease," "19" - identification year) appeared in Wuhan city in early December 2019 and may have originated from an animal source in an exotic foods market. The virus is a SARS-CoV-2 entity and our primary concern is its ease of transmission. While not always deadly, its unchecked spread increases the potential for further pathologic mutations.
IMCRA's approach to international disease control is to get basic preventative and treatment measures across to people rapidly, globally, and in simple native-language terms in provocative and engaging video modules accesible by smartphone and computer. While the disease can be deadly, especially to people over 60 (e.g. of 8 reported COVID-19 fatalities in Beijing, 7 were elderly) taking appropriate measures to understand and counteract the venues for infection can stem the tide of new cases.
U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) notes that COVID-19 is transmitted through skin contact and airborne aerosol sources. Since preventative measures involve relatively simple techniques (e.g. washing hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 sec or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer) getting the message across globally will do much to stem the tide of this and future infections. Current targets are China, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, USA and Indonesia.
