Coronavirus: WHO admits possibility of airborne transmission

The WHO said its expert committees are reviewing the evidence and will update the COVID-19 recommendations in a few days, the New York Times reported

The World Health Organisation WHO on Tuesday admitted the possibility of airborne transmission of the novel Coronavirus, which causes the deadly respiratory disease that has so far infected over 12 million people globally.

The WHO-s announcement came after 239 scientists in 32 countries, in an open letter, requested the UN health agency to acknowledge the airborne transmission of the virus and update its COVID-19 guidelines accordingly. The WHO said its expert committees are reviewing the evidence and will update the COVID-19 recommendations in a few days, the New York Times reported.

-Acknowledge evidence-
"We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of COVID-19," Reuters quoted Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic at the WHO, as saying. "We acknowledge that there is emerging evidence in this field, as in all other fields," the NYYT quoted Dr Benedetta Allegranzi, the WHO-s technical lead for infection prevention and control, as saying. "And therefore, we believe that we have to be open to this evidence and understand its implications regarding the modes of transmission and also regarding the precautions that need to be taken."

-But, not definitive-
"These are fields that are really growing and for which there is evidence emerging, but it is not definitive," she said. "...The possibility of airborne transmission in public settings — especially in very specific conditions, crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings that have been described, cannot be ruled out," Dr Allegranzi said. "However, the evidence needs to be interpreted, and we continue to support this."

The experts who had written the open letter said they were glad that the WHO has finally acknowledged the evidence. "This will allow the world to better protect themselves and fight the pandemic," the NYT quoted Jose-Luis Jimenez, a professor of chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, as saying.

Now, study links COVID-19 to brain infection

Neurological complications of COVID-19 may include delirium, brain inflammation, stroke, and nerve damage, according to a study which says some of these symptoms may not be a direct consequence of the novel coronavirus infection but due to the immune system acting on healthy cells. The research, published in the journal Brain, identified one rare and sometimes fatal inflammatory condition, known as ADEM, which may be increasing in prevalence due to the pandemic According to the scientists, the team normally sees about one adult patient with ADEM per month, but that increased to at least one per week during the study period, which they added is a concerning increase. They said that in some patients, the neurological disorder was the first and main presentation of COVID-19, not cough or fever.

12,035,661
Total no. of COVID-19 cases across the world

5,48,434
Total no. of COVID-19 deaths across the world

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