MEDICAL TOURISM INTERVIEW
HAPPY WE COULD RISE TO THE CHALLENGE The deadly Corona virus (subsequently named ‘Covid 19’ by the World Health Organisation) outbreak in China’s Wuhan city, which claimed over 2700 lives and infected more than 80,000 people globally, had its ripple effect on Kerala too. The State Dr. B. Padmakumar was the only one in the country to report positive cases of the epidemic as three students, who had all returned from China, were detected with the virus infection for which there is no specific treatment. The State, especially its health machinery, didn’t succumb to panic and defeated ‘Coronavirus’, just as it did with the ‘Nipah’ virus onslaught nearly two years ago. The three patients from Alappuzha, Thrissur and Kasaragod districts have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals. 20 Medical Tourism Jan - Mar 2020
‘Medical Tourism’ spoke to Dr. B. Padmakumar, who had treated the patient admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, in south Kerala. Excerpts: Can you share the experience, especially the fight against a completely new virus strain? The youth was detected with the virus strain and admitted to the hospital on January 30. The novel Corona virus infection had by then assumed dimensions of an epidemic. The biggest challenge was to treat a
