PIB Analysis 20th July 2020

COVID19 and Convalescent Plasma Therapy

Context

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare flagged off a Plasma Donation Campaign at AIIMS Delhi.

Details

The event was co-organized by Delhi Police.
Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients contains protective antibodies to the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus.
It can provide immunity to patients of Covid-19 when transfused.
Considering its potential benefit, convalescent plasma therapy is provided to those patients who are not responding to conventional treatment.

Plasma

Plasma is the clear,yellow-colored liquid portion of blood that remains after red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and other cellular components are removed.
It is the single largest component of human blood, comprising about 55 percent, and contains water, salts, enzymes, antibodies and other proteins.
Plasma carries out a variety of functions in the body, including clotting blood, fighting diseases and other critical functions.

What is Convalescent-Plasma Therapy?

When a pathogen like novel coronavirus infects, our immune systems produce antibodies. The antibodies span out to identify and mark the invading virus.
White blood cells attach the identified intruders, and the body gets rid of the infection.
The therapy, like blood transfusion, harvests the antibody from a recovered patient and ingests into a sick person.
The blood of a survivor usually has a high concentration of such antibodies and when given to a susceptible person, these antibodies circulate in blood, reach tissues and neutralize the virus.

How is the treatment given?

Blood is drawn from a person who has recovered from COVID-19 sickness.
The serum is separated and screened for virus-neutralizing antibodies.
Convalescent serum, that is the blood serum rich in antibodies for that pathogen, is then administered to a COVID-19 patient.
The sick acquires passive immunisation.
A person becomes eligible to donate only after 28 days of recovery from COVID-19.

How is it different from vaccination?

This therapy is akin to passive immunization.
When a vaccine is administered, the immune system produces the antibodies.
Thus, at a later date, when the vaccinated person is infected by that pathogen, the immune system releases the antibodies and neutralises the infection.
Vaccination mostly provides lifelong immunity.
In the case of passive antibody therapy, the effect lasts only up to the time the antibodies injected remain in the bloodstream.
The protection given is temporary.

How long do the antibodies remain in the recipient?

After the antibody serum is given, it stays on the recipient for at least three to four days.
During this period, the sick person could recover.
Research reports from the USA and China indicate that the beneficial effect of transfusion plasma is obtained in the first three to four days and not later.

Challenges

This therapy is not simple to harness, primarily due to the difficulty of obtaining significant amounts of plasma from survivors.
In diseases like COVID-19, where most of the victims are aged, suffering from other medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and so on, not all recovered patients can donate blood.

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Context

CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur has unveiled the COVID Protection System (COPS) for Workplace

Highlights

The COPS for Workplace includes contactless Solar Based Intelligent Mask Automated Dispensing Unit cum Thermal Scanner (IntelliMAST), Touchless Faucet (TouF) and 360° Car Flusher .
It will support Start-Ups and Entrepreneurs via technology transfer.
It will also give a boost to the Make in India initiative and PM’s call for AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

The COPS is a conglomeration of the following technologies:

1. Solar Based Intelligent Mask Automated Dispensing Unit cum Thermal Scanner (IntelliMAST)

It is an Intelligent surveillance kiosk which identifies the body temperature and whether an individual is wearing Face Mask or not through customised Software solutions.
The information about an employee not wearing a Face Mask is provided to the Administration for Cashless delivery of the Mask and later deduction of the price from the Salary.
The in-built Thermal Scanner detects probable rise in Body Temperature through forehead scanning and via audio visual alerts the Security Guards.
It will help ensure safety of supervising staff and implementation of precautionary measures in any large organization.
It is backed up by Solar Power for uninterrupted Power Supply during blackouts.

2. Touchless Faucet (TouF)

The system dispenses Liquid Soap and Water from the same Faucet with a time-gap of 30 seconds
The Faucet can be very easily mounted on top of any Wash-Basin and is available in Plug and Play mode for very easy installation.
This domestic variant of the Dispensing system will help in arresting the contamination and help in further containing the spread of infection among the family members, for any asymptomatic individual.

3. 360° Car Flusher

It is a Sodium Hypochlorite Water Screen which uses specialised Nozzle Design to ensure that the Sanitizer Diffused Water is evenly spread over and under the Car Body/Wheels with adequate Water Force and coverage.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR )

CSIR was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body.
It is known for its cutting edge R&D knowledge base in diverse S&T areas and is a contemporary R&D organization.
President - Prime Minister of India

The Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute

(also known as CSIR-CMERI Durgapur or CMERI Durgapur)

It is a public engineering research and development institution in Durgapur, West Bengal
It is a constituent laboratory of the CSIR
This institute is the only national level research institute in the field of mechanical engineering in India.

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MCQs based on PIB Analysis

Q.1 Consider the following statements :