General Office of National Health Commission Office of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 23:09:18 +0000
Medical Letter (2020) No. 66
Notification on the Printing and Distribution of the Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Pneumonia Patients Infected by the New-Type Coronavirus
(Trial Version 3)
The health commissions and TCM administration departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities under separate state planning and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
In order to further guide the whole country to work scientifically and orderly on the diagnosis and medical treatment of pneumonia patients infected by the new-type coronavirus, we organized experts to revise the diagnosis and treatment plan and thus formulated the Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Pneumonia Patients Infected by the New-Type Coronavirus (Trial Version 3), which is hereby printed and distributed to you for your implementation.
Contact person of the Medical Administration of National Health Commission: Du Qingyang
Tel.: +86010-68792989
Fax: +86010-68791823
Contact person of Bureau of Medical Administration, National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Wang Jin
Tel.: +86010-59957686
Fax: +86010-599576845
(Information disclosure form: voluntary disclosure)
Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Pneumonia Patients Infected by the New-Type Coronavirus
(Trial Version 3) (Part 1 0f 3)
Since December 2019, some hospitals in Wuhan City, Hubei Province have successively discovered multiple cases of unexplained pneumonia with a history of exposure to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. The disease has now been confirmed as an acute respiratory infection caused by a new type of coronavirus. The cases collected so far show that the number of cases without a history of exposure to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market is increasing, and there are confirmed clusters and confirmed cases without a history of travel to Wuhan. And there are confirmed cases in many countries and regions overseas from Wuhan and with no clear history of exposure to the wholesale market. Given that the source of the virus, the time of detoxification after infection and the pathogenesis are not clear, in order to better control the outbreak and reduce the probability of the disease’s domestic and international transmission, further strengthening the early detection, isolation and treatment of cases and reducing nosocomial infections as much as possible are currently the key to control the source of infections and reducing morbidity. To improve the ability to treat the disease and reduce nosocomial infections as much as possible at the same time, we revised the Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Pneumonia Patients Infected by the New-Type Coronavirus (Trial Version 2).
I Coronavirus Etiological Characteristics
Coronavirus is a non-segmented, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus, belonging to the Orthocoronavirinae subfamily in the Coronaviridae family within the Nidovirales order. According to serotype and genomic characteristics, the coronavirus subfamily is classified into four genera, α, β, γ and δ. There are currently six recognized types of coronavirus that can infect humans, including 229E and NL63 (α coronavirus), OC43 and HKU1 (β coronavirus), MERS-related coronaviruses (MERSr-CoV) and SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoV). The coronavirus isolated from the lower respiratory tract of patients with unexplained pneumonia in Wuhan this time is a new type of coronavirus belonging to the genus β.
Coronaviruses have an envelope, and the particles are round or oval, often polymorphic, with diameter being 50 to 200 nm. The S protein, located on the surface of the virus to form a rod-like structure, is one of the virus’ major antigen proteins and the main gene used for typing. The N protein encapsulates the viral genome and can be used as a diagnostic antigen.
Most of the know-how about the physical and chemical properties of coronavirus comes from the research on SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The virus is sensitive to heat. Exposure to 56°C for 30 minutes and lipid solvents such as ethyl acetate, 75% ethanol, chlorine-containing disinfectant, peracetic acid, and chloroform can effectively inactivate the virus. Chlorhexidine has not been effective in inactivating the virus.