Page 289 - Kolaj Sharodiya Review Edition

We Survived the Famine, We Live with the Epidemic

Dr. Madhab Chattopadhyay

Introduction The title of this article is an English translation of a line excerpted from a famous poem (Aamra) by Satyendranath Dutta (1882-1922). The original
composition monwontare mori ni amra mari neye ghor kori implies that people of Bengal are extremely resilient. Even famine and epidemic cannot extinct
their existence. The same applies to the Indians in general, when we consider their power of survival during the ongoing Corona pandemic.
The Corona Pandemic: Corona is a viral disease that predominantly affects the respiratory system but also inflicts its damaging effects on heart, kidney, liver,
blood circulation system and even eyes in various ways. The causative organism is a virus called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2
(SARS-Cov-2) and the infection caused by the virus is dubbed Covid-19. The infection is believed to be originated in China last year (2019) and subsequently
it spread all over the world to assume the shape of a pandemic. By the middle of September 2020, it affected a total number of 29,628,994 people out of
which 936,144 died. No medicine that could control the virus is available so far. A vaccine that could effectively prevent the infection is yet to be available
in the market. Quite understandably, the virus has posed a major challenge to the modern system of medicine and as a consequence common people are
feeling helpless and unprotected in the face of the threat.

Enigma in death rate compared to the population density in India Corona is highly contagious i.e a disease which is not only infectious but also spreads
through person to person contact. It is likely to spread very fast in a densely-populated country. India is one of the most densely-populated countries in the
world. While only 36 people live on average per square kilometer in the US, we get 455 people on average in one kilometer in our motherland (based on
estimate obtained in 2018). With a population density 12.6 times more than that of US, the death rate in corona pandemic in this country is not found to be
proportionately higher than that of US (as estimated by simple arithmetical calculation) but 2.55 times less. The rates of corona-death in the US and India are
145.56 and 56.95 respectively (based on figures obtained till October 8, 2020). Similar picture is obtained when we compare death rate and population
density in India with the same parameters available from some other developed countries like the U.K and France .
Possible reasons It is postulated by scientists that Indians by and large live in densely-populated unhygienic conditions. Hence, they are persistently exposed
to some infections that keep their immune system always active. Some others believe that in order to prevent tuberculosis (that is rampant in India even
now) during the middle of the last century, many people in this country used to take BCG vaccine that is believed to boost their immune system. It is also
hypothesized that the various spices that Indians use in cooking, trigger the production of some immunity- enhancing chemicals inside the body. The
involvement of some genes behind the apparent immunity of the Indians against the coronavirus is also proposed. However, none of these ideas has been
validated so far through experiments and observations.

An antidote for irrational fear The apparent resistance of the Indians to Covid-19 should provide a morale booster to our countrymen, who are reeling under
irrational fear for corona through the past six months. It appears to most of the people that they might be infected any time and die. The possibility of
contracting the infection cannot be ruled out in a densely-populated country like ours. But the apprehension of death appears to be grossly overblown.
According to Dr Rajiv Mehta (Psychiatrist, Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi) “Too much outburst of information about Covid-19 is creating widespread panic.
Everything being fed is negative that is further increasing anxiety”. It is known that many of the patients, who fell victim to Covid-19, had some health
problems that they were negligent of or they were unaware of. It is also well-known that a large number of apparently healthy people are pre-ill. Coronavi-
rus infection affects not only the respiratory system but other systems as well. Hence, when somebody contracts this infection, some dormant or undetected
health problems in his body, may get aggravated and kill him.