Letter to the Editor “The Battle of Humans and COVID-19: A War without Smoke”

Letter:

We have read with great interest the study by Bernucci et al¹ titled “Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Northern Italy: Perspectives from the Bergamo Neurosurgery Department.” The authors describe a series of impacts on the hospital (including the neurosurgery) since the outbreak. COVID-19 has had a shocking impact on the medical, economic, and political aspects of various countries. Since its emergence, COVID-19 has spread from a local Asian city to the whole world, a trend that is continuing. As of May 3, 2020, COVID-19 has spread to about 212 countries, areas, or territories, with about 3,349,074 cases of infections and 238,615 deaths (data from https://www.who.int/).² Among them, the European Region, Region of the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean Region, Western Pacific Region, South-East Asia Region, and African Region, respectively, had 1,518,895, 1,384,641, 200,609, 151,444, 64,047, and 29,438 cases (Figure 1A ).² The overall mortality rate of infected persons worldwide is about 7.12%, of which the mortality rates of European Region, Region of the Americas, Western Pacific Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region, South-East Asia Region, and African Region were about 9.39%, 5.66%, 4.11%, 3.92%, 3.71%, and 3.61% respectively (Figure 1B).²

Figure 1.

As of May 3, 2020, (A) Number of infections by region. (B) Mortality rate (%) by region.

Nowadays, COVID-19 poses a huge threat to human beings, but we seem to be insignificant and powerless. Though progress has been made in stages, namely from the inexperienced empirical support treatment in the past to the targeted drugs at present (a series of antiviral drugs are also undergoing clinical trials), the drugs that can completely inhibit or eliminate the virus have not yet appeared. Although progress has been made in stages for vaccine research and development, it will be a long time before the vaccine can be used in clinical practice. And although the government and people have tried to fight the epidemic to some extent, our limited measures still cannot completely stop the pace of the virus. Here, human beings may once again feel their insignificance. Perhaps we will reflect on the fact that we claim to be the masters of the world? Do we overestimate our position in the world? Indeed, since the emergence of human beings, we have always been in competition with viruses. We often end the battle hastily with periodic victories, but it is often short-lived. When something is strong enough to threaten human security, and a war occurs as a result, it should also be a global war; that is, a world war! We are now facing a powerful enemy—COVID-19!¹ The consumption of human, material, and financial resources brought about by this campaign should not be underestimated, but we believe that it is controllable. Here, we appeal to all governments and people to join hands to fight against the virus, and we should not expect to get lucky or despise it. We hope that this global crisis that started with the virus will end with its elimination!