Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces vs COVID-19: The people who save the people
Members of the Special Troops Regiment in Havana contribute to implementation of measures adopted to contain the epidemic
Author: Gladys Leydis Ramos López |
internet@granma.cu
april 14, 2020 10:04:47
Photo: José Manuel Correa
The face mask prevents me from seeing her face clearly, but I don't really need to. As she speaks, the gleam in her eyes denotes the tranquility of someone who places her duty above all else, and her words confirm this.
"I’m from Guantanamo. Although I'm far from my three-year-old daughter at the moment, I continue my preventative work to ensure that everyone who must necessarily walk the streets is abiding by measures to combat the new coronavirus," said Second Lieutenant Maviannis Viquillón Fajardo, a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) Prevention Brigade in Havana.
Young people like Maviannis complete a circuit through the city several times a day, along with members of Special Troops Regiment in the Havana military region, with the mission of contributing to the implementation of measures adopted to contain the COVID-19 epidemic.
Capital city resident Yosumi Plana Trenche, who witnessed the work of the FAR members, stressed the importance of the work of the prevention teams raising the level of awareness among those who, like him, must necessarily leave the safety of their homes and go out onto the streets.
His words of gratitude were repeated by others interviewed, who recognized the positive impact of these and other preventive actions being taken by the Cuban government to combat the deadly virus and protect of the population.
In this regard, Colonel Daniel Sagó Rivera, the brigade’s chief of staff, explained that this joint work consists of street surveillance and patrol services, with a view toward preventing the presence of children and older adults on the streets, reminding pedestrians that wearing a face mask is obligatory, as is maintaining a two-meter distance from others in queues at stores.
The importance of their work was evident in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución, where crowds of people continue shop, some without face masks. These soldiers and officers were busy reminding them of the danger of the disease, attempting to convince them to comply with emergency regulations through persuasion and dialogue.
"The success of these measures lies not only in the responsibility of the authorities to enforce them, although it contributes significantly to that effort. Our work only ends when the population becomes truly aware of the risk this new coronavirus poses to their health and that of their families," the officer insisted.
Colonel Sagó also noted the confidence that the country's leadership has placed in these young soldiers, most of whom are completing their active military service.
"We ask the population to have confidence in them, because right now they are the protagonists of these efforts and are committed to doing the job well. They understand the necessity of conversing with people respectfully, and reminding them that that the measures safeguard us all."
A face that exemplifies Sagó's argument is that of Corporal Reyder Rodríguez Huerta, who, at only 19 years of age, feels prepared to assume such an important mission. He has the training, which he has received daily during his military service; the support of his family; and the desire to be useful to his country.
Like Maviannis Viquillón, Rodríguez insisted that this is the most important mission now. Going out onto the streets - persuading the capital’s people to take the necessary care in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic - has become his way of serving the country, without expecting any recognition.
The work being carried out by the FAR’s special prevention troops led by young people like Reyder Rodríguez and Maviannis Viquillón, is underway across the entire nation, with the objective of preserving the well-being of all.
Photo: José Manuel Correa
http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2020-04-14/cub ... the-people
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Cuba shares what it has
Another Cuban medical brigade has arrived in Italy, this time in Turin, with 21 doctors, 16 nurses and a logistics coordinator, to save lives without asking anything in return, because solidarity has no price
Author: Ventura de Jesús |
informacion@granma.cu
april 14, 2020 10:04:26
The Cuban medical brigade’s arrival in Turin. Photo: Heidy Villuendas
Another Cuban medical brigade has arrived in Italy, this time in Turin, with 21 doctors, 16 nurses and a logistics coordinator, joining the first brigade in Lombardy, the epicenter of the epidemic in the country, to save lives without asking anything in return, because solidarity has no price.
“We share medical care, life, with other peoples,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla tweeted yesterday, recognizing the admirable gesture of these professionals, committed to their own people, but without forgetting others, maintaining humanism as the foundation of their work.
Since their arrival in Turin, the brigade has received countless expressions of gratitude from residents in the region, in the north of the country.
An undeniable reality exposes the slanders of U.S. imperialism, attempting to discredit Cuba’s international medical collaboration. We have nine doctors for every thousand inhabitants, an almost exclusive luxury, and as if that were not enough, in the coming month of July 9,000 more will graduate. We have 84,000 nurses, and 34,000 students are studying nursing and health technology, to serve our population. This is a strength we share.
While the blockade is killing human beings, Cuba is saving lives. There are currently 20 Henry Reeve brigades (425 doctors, 722 nurses, 50 technicians), fighting for the lives of those with COVID-19 around the world.
http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2020-04-14/cub ... hat-it-has
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BioCubaFarma in the COVID-19 battle
To learn about progress being made in scientific research to identify new products to treat COVID-19, Granma interviews Dr. Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of BioCubaFarma Enterprise Group
Author: Orfilio Peláez |
informacion@granmai.cu
april 15, 2020 10:04:11
Photo: Ricardo López Hevia
To learn about progress being made in scientific research to identify new products to treat COVID-19, Granma interviews Dr. Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of the BioCubaFarma Enterprise Group:
-What has the Cuban biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry been doing to confront COVID-19?
-Our Enterprise Group has a specific plan with four fundamental components which are
*Supply medicines included in the COVID-19treatment protocol established by the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap).
*Research and development to provide new products and knowledge to combat this virus
*Cooperation with other countries in supplying drugs to fight the pandemic
*Take steps internally within our companies to protect workers and guarantee operations under current circumstances
-How many products does BioCubaFarma currently provide for Cuba’s COVID-19 treatment protocol?
-At the beginning, 22 medicines were identified, several anti-virals, primarily Interferon, and an important group of drugs for hospital use with patients in different phases, including those in serious and critical condition. We currently have stocks of these for thousands of patients and continue to expand production capacity.
BioCubaFarma companies have added production of face masks and sanitizing products such as medicinal soaps, hypochlorite solution, hydroalcoholic solutions, etc.
Likewise, based on the capacity of our equipment and device plants, in collaboration with other companies in the country and self-employed workers, we are working on the repair of equipment much-needed to confront the pandemic, including ventilators, while we are also manufacturing individual protective wear, mainly masks with filters, visors, goggles and suits."
-What are the most significant scientific advances?
-We initially created a BioCubaFarma working group and activated our Scientific Council commissions, to focus on confronting the epidemic. One of the ongoing tasks has been the search for information, the study of the characteristics of the virus and the behavior of the pandemic in general.
Information processing has allowed us, in a relatively short period of time, to make proposals for the use of drugs and their incorporation into the treatment protocol, or for their initial clinical evaluation.
Today we know that once infection with sars-CoV-2 has occurred, a patient’s condition can take two different paths: Eighty percent of those infected experience a mild case of the disease or are asymptomatic; 20% develop complications and serious or critical conditions. Unfortunately, the average fatality rate globally is above 5% and in some countries exceeds 10%.
The difference between first group and the second is mainly in the status of the infected person’s immune system. Severe cases are known to show 60 times the viral load of mild cases. This occurs because people with weak immune systems do not respond immediately to infection and this virus, which has a high capacity for reproduction, rapidly reaching high levels of copies.
Several risk groups, which all tend to have weak immune systems, have been identified and are more vulnerable to complications when infected with the new coronavirus.
These risk groups include adults over 60 years old, persons with immunosuppressive diseases, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, etc.
In view of this scenario, we are focused on developing medications to strengthen the immune systems of vulnerable patients, drugs with antiviral effect and those to prevent deaths among serious and critical patients.
During the last few weeks, Biomodulin t and Transfer Factor, two drugs that strengthen the immune system, have been included in the COVID-19 protocol. A variant of interferon is also being produced for nasal administration, which will be used as a preventive.
On the other hand, two broad-spectrum vaccines are being evaluated to stimulate the innate immune system. They are new types of vaccines that we have been working on, precisely to ''train'' the immune systems of those who are susceptible to viral infections.
Such products allow the body to be prepared to develop a more effective immune response once infected. These vaccines could soon be incorporated into the protocol for combating COVID-19.
-What is being done to prevent the deaths of critically or seriously ill patients?
-As I mentioned earlier, patients in serious condition may develop a viral load 60 times higher than those with a mild case of the disease. This high viral load produces a response in the organism, which leads to what is called a "cytokine storm," causing a process of hyperinflation that aggravates the patient’s condition.
Based on this information, we have studied in detail the molecular mechanisms and have identified drugs with the capacity to stop this ''cytokine storm'', which can cause the death of patients in a short period of time.
Similarly, we proposed two medications to the Minsap expert group for use with serious and critical patients. After a rigorous analysis, their evaluation was approved in a controlled manner. It should be noted that these drugs have been certified pharmacologically as safety and effective in treating other diseases under study.
Thus far, these drugs have been used in several patients with COVID-19 and we are beginning to see encouraging results, although of course we need to wait for more evidence to determine that the products are having the desired effect and saving lives.
-I have read news reports stating that interferon has not been clinically proven as effective against COVID-19?
-None of the products used worldwide today in the treatment of COVID-19 have any clinical evidence demonstrated in a controlled study. There has not been enough time to conduct clinical trials with all the necessary rigor to evaluate the efficacy of any specific drug in this pandemic.
A large number of drugs have been proposed and approved by regulatory authorities in countries around the world. We are doing the same. For example, each proposal from our scientists is analyzed by the BioCubaFarma working group and then presented to a group of experts at Minsap - including several from Cecmed and the Coordinating Center for Clinical Studies (Cencec) - where they may approved.
We have established special mechanisms for the rapid evaluation and approval of the protocols, while always maintaining a high level of rigor.
In the case of Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2b, produced in our country, it is included in the COVID-19 treatment protocol, along with other chemical antivirals. Interferon helps the body fight the virus by activating the immune system and mechanisms that inhibit viral replication.
We know that since the beginning of the epidemic in China, Interferon was incorporated into the treatment protocol. Based on results obtained, this drug was recommended by expert consensus and became part of the therapeutic guidelines that were approved, not only in China, but also in other countries.
In the particular case of Cuba, the use of this drug in the COVID-19 epidemic has shown very positive results in terms of preventing patients from evolving toward serious condition.
-Are you working on specific preventive vaccines for this virus?
-The number of person infected who remain asymptomatic has not been documented in the specialized literature yet. These patients are one of the fundamental causes of the epidemic’s rapid expansion, hence the importance of active research to identify and isolate these individuals.
Today, what is needed in continuing to live this epidemic, containing transmissions in order to manage the situation until a specific preventive vaccine is developed. Reports indicate that work is underway on 60 vaccine candidates worldwide and human trials have begun for two.
We are focused on developing specific preventive vaccines for this virus, as well. We have designed four candidates and are working quickly to begin testing them in animal models as soon as possible.
-Are you working on the development of diagnostic systems?
-Yes, the pcr test, as it is known, (Polymerase Chain Reaction) in real time is the key to confirming cases of the virus. Rapid diagnostic systems have been developed to measure antibodies, which are produced when an infection occurs.
We are working on the development of an Elisa (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) system based on our Ultramicro-Analytic System (SUMA) technology, which should be available in the coming weeks. It is really a challenge to have the system set up and tested in such a short time, but we are working hard to achieve this.
http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2020-04-15/bio ... -19-battle