Hyderabad:"People from Southeast Asian countries naturally have the ability to resist coronavirus," says Mariappan, senior scientist at the Indian Medical Research (Mosquito Prevention) Center, in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat.
Madurai branch senior scientist Mariappan
“This is the reason for the decline in the death toll in these areas," says Mariappan, senior scientist at the Madurai branch of the Indian Medical Research (Mosquito Prevention) Center. He also serves as a consultant to various state health agencies. Mariappan, who has nearly 40 years of experience in this field told ETV Bharat, “Coronavirus is spreading across many parts of the world. India is no exception.”
SARS viruses that dates back to 2000:
Talking about the impact of the virus, he went on to add, "Since 2000, a variety of viruses have appeared worldwide. As a result, the world has a wide range of impacts. One such virus is the ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome’, also called as SARS. It hit the world in 2003. The prevalence of the virus was acute in 16 countries. This is also similar to the coronavirus - something that spreads from animals to human beings. The virus had no effect in our country until April 2003".
In April same year, a Newsletter of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, CD Alert, published an article in Volume 7 No. 4 explaining the impact of the SARS virus on world countries and why it did not impact India.
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Corona does not attack the people of South East Asia
Senior health consultant further said, "The main reason why the coronavirus epidemic has a severe impact on Europe and the American continents and not on India is due to the inherent gene structure of people in South East Asia. Nevertheless, our Government is making various efforts to reduce the severity of coronavirus infection".
Zika virus that came to India
Highlighting about Zika virus, the senior scientist said that the National Institute of Virology, which runs under the ICMR, has conducted numerous studies and published various articles on such infections for more than 60 years. The institutional study is also the manifestation of the control of the Zika virus epidemic in 2015. Two people in Gujarat and one in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, were diagnosed with the Zika virus in 2017. We immediately identified the virus that was transmitted by ATS mosquitoes and brought it under control.
Similarly, the Government of India is making all efforts to bring under complete control, the spread of the COVID-19. I ask people to fully cooperate with the government for this. ”
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Government needs people to cooperate
Mariappan also said, "Scientists - G. Varghese and Kalyan Banerjee, of the National Institute of virology, in the year 1990, had written an article that Coronavirus spreads to humans from the bats. This article which was published in the journal ‘Current Science’, also states that approximately 31 viruses are being spread by the bats.
The article also describes how one person, infected with Corona from a bat in the United States in 1985 was isolated and treated. ”
The entire world, including India, is continuously fighting against Covid-19 which has become a major health threat. Central and state governments are undertaking various efforts to control the spread. Southeast Asian people naturally possess the genes to fight this virus.
