Dr. Mauro Saio, Italian luminary of Tropical Diseases and for forty years at Nairobi Hospital, one of the historical "doctors of the Italians" but not only (consultant to organizations and institutions at national and international level) is part of the Task Force appointed by the Italian Embassy in Kenya to square on several levels in the Coronavirus emergency that is unfortunately taking hold in the African country. Together with other specialists in the health field, it is developing a plan for possible assistance and care for our compatriots in the country.
During the weekend he was in Malindi and Watamu to visit some facilities and see for himself the situation and the perception, where there is a large Italian presence.
"Kilifi County has activated a team of dedicated medical guards - explains Saio - in case of presumed symptoms or fever, the procedure is to call them (the numbers have been made public and anyone should have them at hand), they will arrive at home and make a first "screening" which, attention, is not a test but just a normal medical visit with a questionnaire to be filled in and specific questions about the state of health and the symptoms felt. If there is no evidence of possible contagion for those responsible for health care, people will be monitored remotely until they get worse. If, on the other hand, a "suspicious case" will be swabbed and then sent to Nairobi".
According to Saio, the next two weeks in Kenya are fundamental to understand the incidence of the virus on the local population and it will be necessary to act as in the presence of a pandemic. Also the rest of the world, as confirmed by several important researchers and immunologists, is waiting for answers from Africa, as well as from South East Asia, on the expansion of the virus in order to understand if with the rise in temperatures between late spring and summer the phenomenon can be mitigated where it is now reaching maximum peaks.
"In the meantime Kenya must continue prevention and containment on several levels - is the opinion of Saio - but there is good news that the World Health Organization is also moving for the countries in this area. Bearing in mind that there are no drugs that can prevent contagion, but only normal anti-flu drugs when the symptoms are mild. As is well known, this virus begins to be dangerous, and in subjects already critical or later in life, when it reaches the mucous membranes of the lungs and creates a sort of cascade of inflammatory substances. Pneumonia is not caused directly by the virus, but by the reaction to it. The active ingredients that are often indicated, immunosuppressive and others, can be useful in the advanced phase of the disease, certainly not to prevent it. The only certain prevention so far is isolation.