Critically review pandemic strategy

Dr. Eberhard Laas, Facharzt für Allgemeinmedizin, Großheubach

Der Hausarzt, 07, 20.04.20

The disease with the coronavirus is on everyone’s lips. According to what is known so far, this disease can certainly be compared with the viral flu (influenza) in terms of infectivity, course of the disease and mortality. In a particularly serious influenza epidemic in 1995/96, there were about 30,000 flu deaths (approx. 3.5 percent) among the 800,000 who died in Germany. During my work as a general practitioner, more than 150 patients came to my practice every day for about two weeks during severe influenza epidemics, house calls increased to 20 per day. Laboratory tests for influenza were rarely carried out at the beginning of the epidemic, as they were of no importance to the treating physician. There were no deaths from influenza without concomitant diseases. Hospital admissions due to influenza were generally not made. Painkillers, antipyretics and cough blockers were prescribed. The flu epidemics in my practice ended abruptly after two to three weeks, because after about ten days probably all the patients I was looking after had had contact with the virus. The decisive difference to the current approach to the corona pandemic was that we general practitioners were naturally responsible for treating a viral flu and not virologists, civil servants and politicians. Our family doctor system passed its test.
There was no economic crisis, the shares did not plummet, there was toilet paper and canned food in the shops, and the treatment was almost cost-neutral when budgeted. Patients felt that they were in good hands with us general practitioners and behaved extremely level-headedly. My “ladies” (practice staff) organized the changed practice procedure calmly and professionally. I very much hope that after the coronavirus pandemic has subsided, a critical examination will be made of whether the current treatment strategy was really sensible compared to the past. The next flu epidemic is sure to come.