Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34325044›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2021

COVID-19: an 'extraterrestrial' disease?

Elisabeth Paul, Garrett W Brown, Mélanie Dechamps, Andreas Kalk, Pierre-François Laterre, Bernard Rentier, Valéry Ridde, Martin Zizi

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Elisabeth PaulSchool of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: Elisabeth.Paul@ulb.be.
Garrett W BrownGlobal Health Theme, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Mélanie DechampsCardiovascular ICU, St-Luc University Hospital, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Andreas KalkKinshasa Country Office, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Pierre-François LaterreDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, St-Luc University Hospital, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Bernard RentierRector Emeritus, Prof. Em. Virology & Viral Immunology, Université de Liège, Belgium.
Valéry RiddeCEPED, Institute for Research on Sustainable Development (IRD), IRD-Université de Paris, ERL INSERM SAGESUD, Paris, France.
Martin ZiziCEO, Aerendir Mobile Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA; formerly Prof. at VUB (Brussels) and KULeuven, ex-CSO Belgian Ministry of Defense.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSince the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 has been regarded as an exceptional disease. Control measures have exclusively focused on 'the virus', while failing to account for other biological and social factors that determine severe forms of the disease.

aimWe argue that although COVID-19 was initially considered a new challenge, justifying extraordinary response measures, this situation has changed - and so should our response. MAIN ARGUMENTS: We now know that COVID-19 shares many features of common infectious respiratory diseases, and can now ascertain that SARS-CoV-2 has not suddenly presented new problems. Instead, it has exposed and exacerbated existing problems in health systems and the underlying health of the population. COVID-19 is evidently not an 'extraterrestrial' disease. It is a complex zoonotic disease, and it needs to be managed as such, following long-proven principles of medicine and public health.

conclusionA complex disease cannot be solved through a simple, magic-bullet cure or vaccine. The heterogeneity of population profiles susceptible to developing a severe form of COVID-19 suggests the need to adopt varying, targeted measures that are able to address risk profiles in an appropriate way. The critical role of comorbidities in disease severity calls for short-term, virus-targeted interventions to be complemented with medium-term policies aimed at reducing the burden of comorbidities, as well as mitigating the risk of transition from infection to disease. Strategies required include upstream prevention, early treatment, and consolidation of the health system.

Indexed as

COVID-19AnimalsHumansPandemicsPublic HealthSARS-CoV-2ZoonosesCOVID-19health policyhealth promotionpublic healthtreatment

Identifiers

PMID34325044
PMCPMC8312087

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.