Mikalai Shaulau: We have faced completely inexplicable illness. WHO’s aid is needed urgently

Health professionals affirm that because of flu epidemic Belarus should seek help from the world medical community.

An open letter of an infectious disease specialist, assistant of Infectious diseases chair of the Belarusian Academy of postgraduate education Mikalai Shaulau, where he writes about an epidemic of atypical pneumonia in Belarus, has evoked a wide response, and it makes him address the Health Care Ministry again, “Belorusskiye novosti” write. The doctor underlines that it couldn’t be claimed that there is no atypical pneumonia in Belarus only because relevant diagnostics is not held in our country.

By “atypical pneumonia” Mikalai Shaulau means malignant, uncharacteristic development of the disease.

The term “atypical pneumonia” appeared long before the outbreak of the recent pandemic in the beginning of the century, and is used for naming lungs disease not caused by one of the more traditional microorganisms, but by other pathogens including viruses. SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) is the accepted name which better reflects the specifics of the illness.

Indeed, the Health Care Ministry is right when they say that atypical pneumonia is not recorded in the country, but they a right just formally. As Mikalai Shaulau underlines, none of the patients was tested for this virus, as well as for other possible causes of pneumonia development.

“I am not a functionary in a white coat, I am a doctor,” Mikalai Shaulau said. He believes that at present experts should primarily find out what virus causes community-acquired pneumonia, which kills people in three-five days. He underlines that development of the disease, as the age of the deceased, most of them were young people, are atypical.

The health Care Ministry does not reveal figures, however, visiting hospitals with consultations, M. Shaulau saw four persons dying in intensive care department in one night, including a young pregnant woman. Pneumonia has so grave development that artificial pulmonary ventilation does not give an expected result, as its regime is hard to choose: “We have faced an absolutely inexplicable illness. We have managed to save some people certainly. Unfortunately, I know individual cases when patients were alive after artificial respirating unit was used for them. Most of them die”.

He underlines that the world medical community must be addressed for help, in particular, the World Health Organization.

Mikalai Shaulau believes that like the population of our country, the WHO at the moment has no information about the real situation with pneumonia rate in Belarus. In case we address the WHO, we could be offered aid in diagnostics: “After all, we have Moscow not far from us, and there is a laboratory of new and newly discovered infections there. There are powerful laboratories in London. The WHO won’t deny help to any state. I should note that only a state can address this organisation, not some doctor”.

In order to realize the complexity of the situation, Mikalai Shaulau offered to recall the case history. The flu A (H1N1) is diagnosed in Belarus since August 19, 2009. “I should note that it happened only after on August 14 the chief sanitary officer of Russia Gennady Onishchenko put in doubt that no cases of flu A (H1N1) had appeared in Belarus”.

All swine flu cases were benign or moderately grave cases. There were no lethal outcomes. M. Shaulau wonders: “Why people started to die in late October, in November? What has changed: a virus, or people? I would like to have an answer to this question from the leadership of the Health Care Ministry”.