Belgian virologist, Peter Piot
Peter Piot is a Belgian virologist who is currently the
head of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In one of Belgium's
leading magazines, 'Knack,' he shares his story about how he
contracted the COVID-19 infection.
I have a deep respect for Peter Piot since the media worldwide always gives him credit for helping discover the Ebola virus in Congo in 1976.
The word 'discovery' means to find out something new, but as a scientist, Piot should have known that the disease he 'discovered' as Ebola in 1976 had existed as a Crimean virus since 1943.
No scientist can lack that knowledge; this is enough for every intelligent person to
know that the source of Ebola has nothing to do with bats, bushmeat, monkeys,
etc., but is simply man-made.
Belgian scientists Peter Piot and Guido Van Der Groen
were in Congo in the early seventies before Ebola occurred in 1976
However, this is not a time for witch-hunting; I am more interested in his recovery from this deadly virus, which has decimated the world, ruined economies, and rendered thousands of people unemployed around the globe.
According to Peter Piot, on March 19, he suddenly had a high fever and a stabbing headache. “It was bizarre that my skull and hair felt very painful. I did not have to cough at the time, but my first reflex was still "I have it. "I kept working; I’m a workaholic, but from home.”
Since at that time it was still not possible to be tested on the
National Health Service (NHS), he turned to a private hospital, which revealed to him that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. At home, he was quarantined.
"However, the fever didn’t go away. I had never been seriously
ill and have not had a day of sick leave in the past ten years. I live quite a
healthy life and run regularly. The only risk factor for coronavirus is my age; I
am 71,” says Piot.
A friend who is a doctor advised further testing, and a chest X-ray
revealed a serious lung infection, causing a severe shortage of breath and
exhaustion. His fear was that he would be placed on a ventilator, which
appears to increase the likelihood of succumbing to the disease.
“I was scared, but luckily I first got an oxygen mask, and
that turned out to work. I ended up in an isolation room at the entrance to
intensive care. You feel tired, so you rest."
You completely surrender to
nursing. You live in a routine from the syringe to infusion and hope you make it. I
am usually quite proactive in my behavior, but here I was 100% patient.”
Peter Piot is a virologist who has worked hard on diseases and, therefore, knows everything about viruses, yet he finds himself isolated because of the coronavirus.
“You sometimes lose scientific level-headedness and
surrender to emotional reflections. They got me, I thought sometimes. I have
devoted my life to fighting viruses, and finally, they get their revenge.
For a week, I wavered between heaven and earth, on the edge of what could have been
the end.”
Now recovering from a second lung infection, which can be
treated as an outpatient, his first plan is to go back to work as an advisor
to European Union Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
“The Commission is strongly committed to developing a
vaccine. Let us be clear: without a coronavirus vaccine, we will never be able to
live a normal life again. The only real exit strategy from this crisis is a vaccine
that can subdue this virus worldwide."
"Despite all our efforts, it is still not
certain that it will be possible to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus.
In the worst case, we will be able to do nothing but try to limit the damage,” concludes Peter Piot.