Pollens can’t act as Covid carrier: Experts
Jammu Tawi, May 06: Jammu Tawi, May 06: Experts on Thursday said that the pregnancy could be an immunity-compromising condition, thus the risk of catching any disease, including COVID-19 could be on the higher side.
Flu expert and president Doctors association of Kashmir Dr Nisar Ul Hassan said that the second wave of Covid-19 is affecting severely pregnant ladies as well which was not the case in the first wave.
“During pregnancy body is actively working to provide nourishment for two, hence, in relative terms, the risk of catching any disease, including COVID-19 could be on the higher side,” he said
Hassan said that in the last few days, two pregnant ladies were received at SMHS with severe pneumonia and among them one is still battling for life despite taking all life saving drugs.
“Pregnant ladies were tested positive in the first wave as well but they were asymptomatic mostly but in the second wave we are witnessing severity in pregnant ladies as well,” he said.
He said that if a pregnant lady tests positive, the chances of cesarean and admitting the baby in Immunal care units in children is very high.
Hassan said that a pregnant lady tested positive for Covid-19 can transmit the virus to her baby in the womb so there is a need that pregnant ladies who are at little higher risk must be vaccinated on priority.
“There’s now a strong case for vaccination to be thrown open for pregnant women in India as women who get vaccinated against COVID-19 could pass on protective antibodies to their babies at birth, which could safeguard them from infection risk till the time they are breastfed,” he said.
Dr Showkat Shifa, Assistant Professor at GMC Anantnag told Kashmir News Observer that pregnant women are just as much at risk for viral transmission like healthy adults. However, studies about vertical transmission are going on.
“Being in a delicate condition, pregnant women must take precautions, however, there is currently no data suggesting risk of miscarriage due to COVID-19,” he said.
He said that pregnancy comes with significant changes in the body including the immune system, so it is important to take extra precautions to avoid catching the infection, “but there is no need to panic”.
Experts believe that pregnancy itself is a vulnerable stage as they nurture another life within their womb.
“Thus the state of partial immune suppression makes pregnant women more vulnerable to viral infections, and the morbidity is higher even with seasonal influenza,” they said.
“So, there is a need that pregnant women must be very careful during this time when COVID-19 is causing this entire catastrophe globally,” they said.
Amid the growing fear that the pollen from poplar trees can act as a potent COVID-19 virus carrier, valley medical experts Thursday ruled out the chances saying that there is no evidence to prove that a cotton-like substance can transmit the infection to an individual.
Medical experts believe that the pollen coming from trees like Russian poplar trees won’t act as a carrier of the deadly Coronavirus even during the 2nd phase of the virus.
A well-known allergy expert, Dr Ghulam Hassan said that pollen leads to a similar cough but no fever which can be treated with some anti-allergy medicines while the fever is a viral infection these days due to COVID-19 virus.
Hassan said there is no evidence to prove that pollen from trees is potent to transmit virus since they are just a microscopic structure.
“Studies suggest that pollen is cotton coming from poplar trees while there is no study to prove that it can carry the virus on its surface and affect an individual,” he said.
The allergy expert said there is only one difference between infection and allergy which is, a viral infection causes fever and body ache while allergy has no such impact.
“We have tested the pollen last year after getting the chemical from America and Germany which depicted that there is the least common allergy in cotton here,” Dr. Gh Hassan maintained.
He said that the pollen from common grasses leads to allergies in the valley.
“Cutting down all the polar trees won’t find a solution. This can be normalised by immunotherapy since the pollen and dust mites enter even through ordinary masks while specially designed nano masks can prevent it,” Hassan maintained.
Meanwhile, Valley renowned Flu expert Dr. Nisar Ul Hassan who also heads Kashmir’s doctor’s body said that the virus particles (droplets) remain suspended in the air, and pollen from trees have nothing to do with it.
“They are not the vectors for the virions since it (Virus) remains suspended in air on its own the way pollen and other allergens remain. It doesn’t act as a carrier to transmit the virus,” Dr Nisar said.
