Medical practitioners and researchers should function hand-in-hand to tackle emerging viral infections, Shyam Kottilil, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Maryland, Baltimore, has said.
Speaking to the The Hindu, Dr. Kottilil said the compartmentalisation of various sections will hit the effectiveness of disease control programmes.
“There is a real shortage of virologists in the medical field. We need research in emerging diseases and their mode of transmission. There should be studies about vector biology and vector control measures. We need epidemiological data to improve surveillance,” Dr. Kottilil, who is the Director of the Division of the Clinical Care and Research at the Institute of Human Virology, USA, said.
State’s health network
Early diagnosis and breaking the chain of transmission are the most effective ways to contain viral infections. Kerala could control Nipah effectively since the State had the advantage of a well-developed healthcare network, he said.
Dr. Kottilil, who is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, said people panicked over viral infections as they can affect anybody and transmit rapidly. They can become pandemic and lead of massive fatalities.
Higher risk
“Pandemics are complex whether in developed or developing countries. In the case of COVID-19, it was imported. Containing people coming from outside is one thing. But if it starts transmitting within the local community, things will go out of hand. The increasing lifestyle diseases put more people at higher risk in the case of viral outbreaks.”
In Kerala, the Health Minister herself was leading the medical team. But in case of bigger outbreaks, one person or a small group may not be able to handle the situation.
In developed countries like the U.S., a government agency is leading and co-ordinating the research, preventive and medical programmes, he said.
Generic medicines
Dr. Kottilil, one of the founding members of the US National Hepatitis C treatment Guidance Panel, said India producing many generic medicines for Hepatitis C at reasonable rates was good news.
“But in the absence of a national programme, a systematic follow-up has not been taken out in the case of Hepatitis C, like in the case of HIV/AIDS. So many people drop off and stop medication. We do not have sufficient data either. Dialysis patients and drug abusers are two known risk groups of the disease. The challenge is to make sure that they continue to take medicine. The national programme on HIV/AIDS was a role model.”
Vaccination
The focus of research is on ways to prevent these diseases with vaccination and how they can be completely cured. However, researches on effective vaccination for HIV/AIDS has yet not made much progress, especially in persons who have had repeated exposure to HIV/AIDS virus, said Dr. Kottilil, recipient of Hinda and Richard Rosenthal award from the American College of Physicians.
A graduate from Thrissur Government Medical College, Dr. Kottilil has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications.
