Global Virus Network (GVN) is building a connection between experts from public health organizations, industry and academia to bring about an advanced and effective solution to COVID-19. The purpose of GVN is basically to strengthen researches in medicine and responses to existing viral diseases such as coronavirus (COVID-19) and prepare for possible and new viral pandemic threats.
GVN stays on its purpose through three different ways including provision of support through small grants to the scientists for research purposes, mass education and working with governments and research funding organizations and agencies. It organizes regular discussions over strategies with its associates and members about the coronavirus (COVID-19), the disease that originated in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019.
GVN is the representative of 9 affiliates from 32 different countries and 53 Centres of Excellence. These associates include experts in each and every class of virus that causes disease in animals and humans. In this regard, GVN is creating subcommittees that will make scientific advice and recommendations.
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Prof. Christian Bréchot, the president of Global Virus Network told about the purpose of the GVN platform. He stated that GVN serves as the site of information for all its centers and affiliates as well as public health organizations and many industry leaders.
He also stated that GVN will suggest guidelines and provide scientific recommendations for performing research on coronavirus (COVID-19) in laboratories globally.
Side by side, GVN is working with many national-level organizations including Africa CDC and China CDC as well as with different companies that are manufacturing scientifically proven and approved testing products.
According to the recent situation report by the World Health Organization, Coronavirus infection has spread to all global regions including Singapore, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Australia, France, Egypt, India, Spain, Germany, United States of America, United Kingdome, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Veit Nam.
The recent statistics represent more than 73,000 confirmed cases and 1873 deaths globally. Out of these, more than 72,500 cases are confirmed within China with 1870 deaths in the country. In other countries, 804 cases are laboratory-confirmed and 3 patients have died.
Dr. Marion Koopmans, the director of GVN Center of Excellence in the Netherlands, said that we are working to set up the first diagnostics to help countries establish the protocol for earlier case finding as it is an urgent need.
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The Europian Union (EU) holds a network of approximately 800 hospitals. With this network, GVN members are working to prepare for observational studies as well as clinical trials so that it may help us in enrolling infected individuals if the infection spreads further, out of China.
Further, Dr. Koopmans told that they have a reference database and samples of infected people with different and multiple human coronaviruses from past years along with experiments related to animal infections.
This can help us to research and study the pathogenesis and transmission possibilities of the new coronavirus. Hence, it can help us in determining the natural history of this novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection.