Doctors, scientists hail bravery of Chinese peers

Leading medical groups and scientists have voiced support for Chinese colleagues fighting to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, while highlighting the benefits of international cooperation and solidarity.

The World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies said: "We need to support our colleagues, the Chinese Neurosurgeons and the Chinese Medical Association, showing solidarity to our colleagues who are fighting the spread of the virus at high personal risk."

On Tuesday, the federation's president, Franco Servadei, and its committee's chair, David Adelson, wrote to the chairpersons of its member committees: "Thank you for your cooperation and solidarity with our Chinese neurosurgical colleagues."

In the letter, leading medical scientists noted that upcoming annual and biannual meetings of the federation scheduled "will not easily or likely be canceled" because of the outbreak.

In a separate letter on Monday to the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Servadei said: "We did appreciate the speed with which the new coronavirus was identified by Chinese investigators and the unprecedented containment effort which is being conducted."

In addition, Howard Catton, CEO of the International Council of Nurses, or ICN, said his organization has made a donation to the Chinese Nursing Association of essential supplies of personal protective equipment.

Catton said that, during a meeting with World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus this month, the council's president, Annette Kennedy, had sent messages of solidarity and support to the Chinese Nursing Association and the College of Nursing Hong Kong.

"What is clear from our discussions is, providing more adequate personal protective equipment and clothing is vital," said Catton, according the ICN's website.

The international cooperation has seen many specialists work to jointly fight the virus.

Top scientists from China and Germany held a video conference call on Feb 6 to discuss the outbreak's development, treatment, pharmaceutical research, and vaccine development, and a second video conference will be held in March to expand cooperation, according to China's embassy in Germany.

In Russia, medical scientists there were among the first to conduct joint research with Chinese partners on a vaccine for the virus.

Experts from Russia hailed China's efforts and expressed their support.

Sergei Netesov, from the Russian Academy of Sciences, who is head of the bio-nanotechnology, microbiology, and virology laboratory at Novosibirsk State University, said China has taken timely steps to prevent the virus spreading further.

Netesov said the fight against novel coronavirus was informed by previous outbreaks, and he predicted that the current one could be stopped within six months because of the development of diagnostic tools and access to greater information.

China has gained experience after handling the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak of 2002 and 2003.

Pavel Volchkov, head of the Genome Engineering Lab at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, said: "As of now, quarantine isolation is the main measure for preventing the spread of the virus. The Chinese government has shut down local passenger transportation in the affected regions."