Some experts, after going through the commotion between Media mogul, Raymond Dokpesi and NCDC over what his COVID-19 status, have asked some key questions.
Raymond Dokpesi, last week demanded explanations from medical experts on what type of disease coronavirus really is, after he was given malaria drugs to cure his Coronavirus.
“I still have doubts in my mind and I need to be educated. What’s the difference between COVID-19 and malaria? Every drug we were given were malaria medications.”
“A number of persons who tested positive were checked in reputable labs, hospitals in Abuja and were found to have malaria parasites in their bloodstreams. When did malaria become synonymous with COVID-19? He asked.
To clear thing, Chikwe Iheakweazu, the Director-General of the National Center for Disease Control, said “COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a virus” while “Malaria is caused by a parasite.”
Iheakweazu explained this while clearing the doubt on COVID-19 and Malaria.
He says, “I think we all know COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a virus, Malaria is caused by a parasite. They are completely different diseases.”
“However, many diseases present exactly the same way in the beginning, Yellow fever presents the same way with fever at the beginning, Lassa the same way, malaria the same way.”
“So, the initial presentation of a febrille illness is similar across diseases. There is no specific treatment for COVID-19 so what clinicians do is to manage your symtoms so that your body recovers as quickly as possible.”
“You can have Malaria and COVID-19. That you have COVID-19 doesn’t prevent you from having Malaria and if you are in a hospital for one month, you could definitely be co-infected by both of them.”
“So there are many reasons why people receive similar treatments but they are two completely different diseases with different pathogenesis.” he said
But experts are asking Chief Raymond Dokpesi this 6 questions
1. Is he telling us he had no covid -19 but went to the isolation centre just to catch fun of comparing malaria with covid?
2. Is he saying covid -19 doesn’t exist?
3. Who satisfied him positive for covid -19 in the first instance?
4. If he says the drugs he took in isolation are malaria drugs, how did he know?
5. Who certified him covid-19 negative after the treatment?
He spoke and people clapped and laughed but many questions he left unanswered. Has he realised that he has just certified the song the people of the North sang some weeks ago- babu corona?
6. With his message, has he realised how many he might have led to drop their guard?
