Updates on COVID -19 (Part 3)

By Edgar Mana-ay

 

Of the THREE T’S (TEST, TRACE AND TREAT) in controlling the spread of coronavirus in Iloilo, it is in the testing aspect that we are the weakest. Some suspected infected personnel have already completed their 14-day quarantine BUT THEIR PCR TEST RESULT IS NOT YET KNOWN!

Recently, there was even a case of a normal burial after which when the PCR test came out, the buried person WAS POSITIVE, so just imagine how many infections happened because of the very late test result. Our economy is also adversely affected for we unnecessarily detain numerous suspected infected citizens (asymptomatic and therefore healthy), who could otherwise be part of reviving the economy. Rapid and accurate testing is the key to resurrect our ailing economy.

Aid Genomics, a company in Israel, has developed a high tech on-the-spot testing that can check a planeload of passengers in an hour to determine those who are positive or negative of the virus. Considering the more than 200,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and Locally Stranded Individuals (LSI) who wish to return to their respective localities, this method could really ease the homecoming congestion of our fellow Filipinos and relieve the burden and fear of their local government destination. Meaning when they board the plane or ship in Manila for the provinces, right at the airport and pier, these returning citizens are accurately tested and provided with the certificate that they are COVID-free. The COVID stigma is therefore removed so as to be heartily accepted in their respective barangays.  Normal loading of planes and ships is also possible because all boarding passengers are certified COVID-free, thus achieving faster releases of our kababayans to their respective homes in the provinces.

Izhak Haviv, Chief Scientist of Aid Genomics, said his company has changed the enzymes and other components normally used in test kits in order to enable small batches of “VIP” tests to be processed in 30 minutes and bigger batches in around double the time. There are various attempts around the world to reduce times for processing tests, and the current low is believed to be 90 minutes. Such tests, however, are generally seen as premium products, mostly reserved for hospitals given their high cost. Haviv said his testing will be significantly cheaper than existing express service. Swabbing is also done in the nose but using a different enzymes from those previously used in test kits. Since the kit has been made more sensitive, test samples need less processing and purification before results can be generated.

Swab testing relies on extracting ribonucleic acid (RNA) from swab samples, preparing it for analysis and then analyzing it. Part of the process is to “AMPLIFY” the RNA from patients, which contains a limited, undetectable amount of virus, and increasing the quantity of RNA fragments identifiable as originating from SARS-COV-2. Enzymes are used in this process and the new test kit (using a new enzyme) is 50 times more sensitive than existing test kits being used now.

Artificial Intelligence or AI is the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with high IQ human beings. The term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems endowed with the intellectual processes characteristics of humans, such as the ability to reason, discover meaning, generalize or learn from past experience. In computer science, AI is intelligence demonstrated by machines unlike natural intelligence displayed by humans most commonly known as IQ or Intelligence Quotient. IQ entrance exam is a routine test used by companies so that at the very start it has already an idea of the intellectual capacity of would-be employees. Normally an average to very high IQ has a numerical measurement from 98 to 140! (If you are reading this, do you know yours?). It is important that while at a young age, as early as 10 years old, one has to know his IQ because IQ can be improved by practicing on exercises found in IQ books available at any bookstore.

AI machines or computers can mimic cognitive functions associated with human minds such as “learning and problem solving” and can outdo a human with a 140 IQ level. Coronavirus is a difficult virus to deal with because it has a long pre-symptomatic phase which is up to 4 or 5 days where the patient has minimal, if any symptoms. COVID-19 is also very different in different people. One of the difficulties with the qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) to diagnose COVID-19 is that it requires nasal swab and still at best, it’s only probably picking up to 80% of positives, it could even be less. Many other viruses like flu, symptoms are fairly early on, so it’s easier to isolate but coronavirus has a phase where a patient has minimal symptoms.

During this pandemic, big data sets are gathered from various parts of the world and analysis from this data platform is done by precision machines, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence because of the complexity of coronavirus. Questions like why some people get very sick and others do not and it’s still a question no one yet understands. There are also likely some genetic pre-dispositions and some blood types (that affects severity). To use big data, to understand that and find sets of patients that will respond similarly to a therapeutic agent, AI analysis is required. This is the use of predictive analytics to segment patients that will respond in a homogenous way to a therapeutic action. These are excerpts taken from Maya Margit of the Media Line.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has held that COVID-19 is mainly transmitted by large respiratory droplets that drop to the floor after a sneeze or cough and that the virus is likely spread by person to person contact and indirect contact with infected surfaces. BUT 239 scientists from 32 nations now claim they have evidence that smaller particles of the virus can travel through the air and infect people! Dr. B. Allegranzi WHO technical lead on infection control said: “in the last couple of months, we considered airborne transmission as possible but certainly not supported by solid or clear evidence. There is still a strong debate on this!” Paging DOH, what is your say on this, so we can be guided accordingly.