Why are doctors infected with the coronavirus despite health care?

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The risks and impact of a virus for Latin America 5:35

(CNN Spanish) - From the heart of the coronavirus outbreak, China, came terrible news: more than 1,700 frontline doctors are infected with the virus.

This represents a new crisis for the Chinese Government, which has taken drastic measures to stop the outbreak that originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and has already infected more than 64,000 people globally and has left more than 1,300 dead.

Doctors are supposed to be the most protected and prepared, how is it possible that they become infected?

The measures determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States to protect doctors are very broad, ranging from a basic action such as good washing from hands to gloves, respiratory protection, suits, eye protection and more.

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There is a point from health authorities to protect doctors and health center personnel that can be key to understanding how more than 1,700 frontline workers are infected, and it is the management of patients to recognize the coronavirus in time.

The WHO explains that the early recognition of patients who may have the Wuhan coronavirus, and therefore their immediate isolation from other people, is essential to contain the spread. A process that begins with the classification of patient urgency, better known as triage. The organization indicates that those in charge of this function should be motivated to have a high level of clinical suspicion, as well as establish a well-equipped station at the entrance of the health facility that has trained professionals.

Ivan Hung, director of the infectious diseases division at the University of Hong Kong, spoke with David Culver, a CNN correspondent in China, and pointed out that it is not health workers who are in direct contact with coronavirus patients. who are at greater risk, but "general practitioners and doctors in emergency rooms facing patients who do not know if they have the virus or not."

For Dr. Elmer Huerta, a public health specialist and collaborator of CNN in Spanish, you have to look at the numbers.

"Of the 1,716 infected health workers, 1,102 are from Wuhan (the epicenter of the virus), and the reason they have been infected, according to reports from the Chinese press, is the shortage of gloves, masks and protection," explains Huerta .

In fact, cases of infected medical workers in Wuhan account for 64% of patients throughout China.

"It's not that the virus is different or that these people have neglected," adds Dr. Huerta.

Dr. Aileen M. Marty, an infectious disease specialist, says that many of the doctors who became infected became ill before they knew how contagious the virus was and even before it was known that it was not a normal respiratory problem.

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“That was when they were not taking the methods that are being used right now to prevent contagion between the patient and the doctor. What was always used to reduce the risks was being used, but the doctor has to touch the patient, look at his mouth, eyes, and those processes are usually very close, ”explains Marty.

When a virus is as dangerous and contagious as the coronavirus, something that was not known at the time, standard precautions are not enough. Marty says that now that more and more is known about the disease, the numbers of infected doctors are expected to be reduced.

With information from María Camila Rincón and Gabriela Matute.

Contagiocoronavirus Doctors