Covid-19: Private sector is ready to test corona infection even at the cost of losing money, says Dr. Trehan

In an exclusive interaction with ETV Bharat, Dr. Naresh Trehan, CMD of Medanta – the Medicity, said the government should set a strict criteria and fix the fees for screening by certified private labs like it did at the time of outbreak of Swine Flu. He said private sector is ready to screen corona patients even if it costs money as the objective is to win the battle.

Hyderabad:Renowned health specialist and Chairman of CII’s healthcare council, Dr. Naresh Trehan said that the issue of private sector's involvement in containing the spread of novel coronvirus has been discussed extensively within the industry and private hospitals are ready to shoulder the responsibility. In an exclusive interaction with ETV Bharat, Dr. Naresh Trehan, CMD of Medanta – the Medicity, said the government should set a strict criteria and fix the fees for screening by certified private labs like it did at the time of outbreak of Swine Flu. He said private sector is ready to screen corona patients even if it costs money as the objective is to win the battle.

ETV Bharat: It has not yet spread to the community level, what is your sense, are we able to contain it?

Dr. Naresh Trehan: One thing is that we are not yet 100% sure that whether it has reached to the community level or no. This is our biggest fear. This thing has to be seen. So the government in its wisdom yesterday started the community level testing, like dipstick random checking. That will give us some idea. If you have done enough tests in the community then we will know whether it is spreading or not.

That will be the greatest news if we find out that it has been contained and it is not spreading. Because once it starts spreading then spreads very fast and is very difficult to control.

So, one, the answer to it is that we don't know. Second, we shall know very soon.

Next two-to-three weeks are very critical. We all need to be alert and be able to contain ourselves, our neighbours, our family. And to protect all, we should be responsible for reporting any person who has come from overseas, the persons whom he has been in contact with. And also anybody else who has cough, cold or fever. It may be just another flu, just a normal flu, but they should isolate themselves right away for two weeks.

ETV Bharat: Private sector has not yet been allowed to screen Corona patients. What do you recommend, the government should permit them and fix a rate?

Dr. Naresh Trehan: There is a sequential step that has to be taken, the first step was to screen those who have been overseas. Second is to screen their contacts are to be screened. And now they are saying dipstick community level testing. And if you find that there is a large number of people to whom it is spreading then we need to test many-many more people.

The government should allow certified, well-established labs to participate in the screening, with very strict criteria that who can be screened, it should not be like that anybody with money can walk in and say let me do it. So there should be a strict criteria and they should also establish a rate, a maximum rate that they can charge, like they did in Swine Flu. We all participated in Swine Flu.

We were told that the amount of money was almost the cost of the kit. And it was okay that we should not be making any money. If we lost some money, it's all right because it's basically to protect our own environment and national environment. So I think it's national service to participate and we are going to participate even if it costs us some money rather than charging money.

ETV Bharat:What are the lessons that we can learn from countries like China and Korea who were successful in containing the virus after some time.

Dr. Naresh Trehan:Well, China is the culprit. China hid it for the month and it spread all over the world. In a way, it's criminal. On the other hand, once they admitted it and when they knew that it is going to hurt their country badly, they moved very rapidly and did a good containment. So, over the period of three months they contained it, flattened the curve and now the number of cases are diminishing, many-many people have been cured, so China may be over the hub.

South Korea is another good example, they jumped on it right away. They had the experience of backdrop of China, they tested it, they treated it with the lowest mortality and the lowest progression rate. That is other example.

The third and fourth examples are Italy and Iran and they did not act fast enough and they are suffering.

India, I would say we were alert enough and in mid-January we started full screening and started to ban flights and we started to screen those people who have been overseas and their contacts and trying to contain it. And how successful we have been in our containment, now we will find it out with community testing because it was very restrictive before.

ETV Bharat:Whether the summer will bring any respite?

Dr. Naresh Trehan:It is something that we should look up to God to help us because nobody knows about this virus because in past dry-heat has reduced the viral burden hugely. We are hoping that this virus is also not immune to dry-heat. Moist-heat does not bother a virus but dry-heat does. So in this part of the world, in India, we have very severe summer and very dry summer and we may benefit from it.

ETV Bharat: How far we are away from any vaccine or any treatment for this virus?

Dr. Naresh Trehan: There are two pieces of good news that are on the horizon. One is Gilead, which is a pharmaceutical company in the US, has come up with possibly a remedy. It means those people who have had the problem can be treated much like the AIDS treatment. And this is ready to be released so that will be much relief because there was no medicine for the people who were badly affected, this may be the answer.

Second, the vaccine, which is to prevent, the vaccine they say is also ready for testing in humans and there are some volunteers who have already been injected with it but it will take sometime, three months, six months, to get in the market.

ETV Bharat: What will you recommend to private sector, India is a poor country and government resources are limited?

Dr. Naresh Trehan: In private sector, we are discussing it a lot. The message is that private sector is by-and-large ready to participate in every way. We are saying that we should not worry about who spends what, the matter is to win the battle and we will all participate in it. And whatever fare system comes out, let it come out. I don't think there should be any hesitation and in our meetings in private sector we have been saying that when need be, we are there.

(Interviewer: Senior Journalist Krishnanand Tripathi)