Page 33 - IB Mar 2020

InDepth InDepth

the one that travels fastest is information. Infection and foods that will boost your system. Because we are not dealing
people are slow to catch up with information. Information is with robots, we are dealing with human beings that have a
faster than the transmission of the infection. mind, body and soul, but are we doing enough to support
our immune systems? I do not know whether these questions
IB: Could we have been better prepared? have been answered scientifically whether the immune
Koroivueta: Better prepared is a good statement to keep. systems of the general populations of the world now are
You know, prepare for the unexpected, which is something better than those that live before us. Are we more prone, as
missing now. Right now, if you look at the capacity of the a population to infectious diseases compared to those in the
intensive care units right around the world to be able to cope last generation? How long this will last, I cannot answer right
with the acutely ill from infectious outbreaks of a pandemic now but history has shown that epidemics do have a normal
nature, it is not there. Because basically state health distribution curve. There’s a time where it starts to increase,
authorities have not prepared themselves for a scenario like reaches a peak and then it flattens out.
this, and which have made them question the morality of
doctors, of whom they should attend to first; patients that IB: How does that translate to months, 6 or 12 months
are likely to live, those that have better productivity span in perhaps?
the community, or we should treat all, leaving no one behind. Dr Koroivueta: I believe it’s around 6 months, some are
But if we don’t have the resources to attend to everyone, even shorter. You know there’s this myth that the virus cannot
then doctors will start to ask these kinds of questions, survive in hot climates. There’s a myth that if you take a hot
which is really a morality issue. It questions the integrity of bath, it kills the virus.
professionals. Sometimes in situations like this, it is beyond
the health system to manage. It’s a security issue now. We are IB: Or take a hot drink.
talking about international relations, about public health at Dr Koroivueta: Yes, a hot drink, or out in the hot sun. But
the borders, safety at large of people, you ‘re talking about these are myths, because the virus is an unusual organism
travel advisories, so it’s a whole band of issues you have to in the sense that the only way it can multiply is within the
consider. human body. It cannot multiply outside. It can live outside, on
the surface of your hands, but only for a short period of time,
IB: This not being the first global pandemic as you but it cannot multiply. It will need a multiplying cell, which is
had said, what are some of the lessons learnt from past the human cell, which the virus programmes it so it would be
epidemics? able to make the viral genome and thus multiply.
Dr Koroivueta: I think what we have learnt and got better
over the years and that countries around the world, at times IB: In your previous work as Chief Medical Officer in
like this, cooperate with other health authorities, cooperate Fiji’s Ministry of Health and the official in charge of the
between countries, cooperate at the border, cooperate in National Laboratory in Tamavua, are you aware whether
terms of exchange of information, best practices, what Fiji or any islands in the Pacific have a response plan for
worked best for the interests of the people, what practices global pandemics like COVID-19?
we should get out of. I mean we learnt from China; they’ve Koroivueta: From what I do know, Fiji has got its response
gone to the extremes of taking safety health measures. It’s plan. I would not be surprised if the other Pacific Island
abnormal not to wear a mask in China. It varies in other Countries have their own plans as well. Some of them could
countries. look at the SARS contingency plan and use it, based on lessons
The impacts will be the economic downturn, that’s what learnt over the years. It certainly would require resources, it
a lot of people are now looking at. Luckily for us, I have would require human expertise, it would require people to
been reliably informed that most of our pharmaceuticals man border controls, so they would be able to rapidly detect
do not come from China. So we are in the safety net in that people who are infected and managed such ones. We now
particular regard. We get our supplies mostly from Australia, know that we have the capacity within country to be able
New Zealand and also from India. to do a molecular diagnosis of corona virus in Fiji at Mataika
Now if you ask me personally what would I advise people House.
as you look back over the years, I think one thing we haven’t
learnt is the superb-nature of the human body, in that what IB: Is there a risk of contamination from these highly
we in the western medicine have not paid enough attention specialised laboratories?
to is how to support the human immune system of people. Dr Koroivueta: Absolutely. In fact, if you see these
And there are basic home remedies we can apply. They were specialised labs, they are highly contained, in other words
lifesavers during the ancient times. They are still lifesavers they use a special cabinet, they call it the Laminar Flow
today and can complement mainstream medicine. Cabinets, which uses a special filter (HEPA Filter) to be able to
provide a barrier between the operator and the material. And
IB: Good hygiene, and sanitation practices? they use personal protective gear and certainly if the facility
Dr Koroivueta: Yes, hygiene and sanitation, exactly, things is not properly contained, then it poses a risk to the health of
that would support our immune systems. There are certain Continue on page 34

Islands Business, March 2020 33