Son Llatzer coronavirus lecture

Dr Al Nakeeb told the audience that bats are usually carriers of different types of coronavirus and warned that "its natural habitat in China has been invaded by man and now we live closer to them, which is one of the reasons why microorganisms that live in other animals pass to humans."

He added that “the Wuhan coronavirus could well disappear by itself, as was the case with SARS, but that there are still more isolated cases of the MERS coronavirus, so it could remain and the truth is that it will not be the last, in a few years we will see a different coronavirus," he suggested.

“By decreasing the mortality of an infection it is more difficult to control it, because asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms do not go to hospital, so the virus is transmitted more easily," added Dr. María Arrizabalaga.

Dr Al Nakeeb stressed that advances in technology, medicine and biology play a big role in stamping out viruses quickly.

“The means we have now are not the same as 20 years ago and it shows at the level of genetic engineering and molecular biology. In a week we had the new PCR in almost all the countries of the world and in all Microbiology centres, which would have been unthinkable years ago when laboratory cultures needed up to a week for diagnosis ”, he said, pointing out that Son Espases can now diagnose the disease in less than four hours.