Read on Twitter
CLASSIFYING COVID-19A look at the UK government's classification system for disease -
A THREAD
1. The UK government has a policy for classifying certain diseases as 'high consequence infectious diseases' (HCID) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid
2. The following criteria define classification of a HCID....
3. There are 2 sub-categories of HCIDs, relating to how they're transmitted within the population:
4. COVID-19 an acute infectious disease with a typically high fatality rate. It's transmitted through contact & is also airbone, with a high rate of infection in the community & healthcare setting. There is no effective treatment, & an enhanced response is required.
5. COVID-19 hits all the criteria for the government's system for classifying HCIDs, which begs the question, why isn't it classified as 1? Not only is COVID-19 not a HCID now, it hasn't been 1 since March.
6. Out of interest, let's see what is considered a HCID in the UK...
7. Concentrating on the airborne HCIDs, as this seems to be the issue for most what with the mask mandate, let's look into each disease....
8. Andes Virus Infection: respiratory disease caused by a hantavirus. Found in rodents. Only hantavirus strain in humans. Mostly found in S.America (hence the name) & there have been no recorded UK cases.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_orthohantavirus
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_orthohantavirus
9. We can hit all these Avian Influenza strains in 1, I reckon. There have never been any cases of A (H7N9), H5N1 or H5N6 in the UK. There have been 2 outbreaks of H7N7, in 2008 & 2015, both on bird farms. Employees tested positive, but no deaths. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bird-flu/
10. Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) - A type of coronavirus originating in the Middle East. An outbreak in 2013 resulted in 4 instances of infection & 3 deaths in the UK. http://www.piduk.org/whatarepids/management/mersvirus
11. Monkeypox - rare disease caused by monkeypox virus. A mild illness, accompanied by rash, that gets better without treatment. There have been 4 cases in the UK, all infected abroad. Not easily spread & a vaccine was developed in 2019. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/monkeypox
12. Nipah Virus - zoological virus transmitted from animals to humans. Can lead to meningitis & encephalitis. There have been 700 known cases worldwide with 75% resulting in death. The UK has never had a reported case. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nipah-virus-epidemiology-outbreaks-and-guidance
13. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - airbone coronavirus. 2002-04, outbreaks resulted in highly contagious, potentially fatal strains of pneumonia. 4 cases recorded in UK, & 0 cases anywhere since '04. No vaccine or targeted medication. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sars/
14. Covid-19 is caused by a mutation of the same coronavirus responsible for SARS. To date, the UK has recorded 576,000 cases & 42,679 deaths. The infection rate has led to restrictions on gathering & movement, plus mandatory use of face coverings.
15. Despite meeting all criteria & far surpassing infection & mortality rates of every disease on the list, the UK government does not consider Covid-19 to be a high consequence infectious disease.
There is something clearly amiss here & it needs addressing.
There is something clearly amiss here & it needs addressing.
@threadreaderapp unroll
Tagging a few accounts that might want to share: @Scifiscreen @looking4ans @Laboursupportuk @jamesmc13123269 @jc25805064 @TheBulldog74 @Katieraydee @BillyBrexit4 @DesmondSwayne @Francis_Hoar @CathyCathyFox @BritainFree @simondolan @NeilClark66 @ClarkeMicah @ianbrown
