Iran’s health minister calls for comprehensive coronavirus research
Iran’s minister of health in a letter to his deputy for research and technology called for the use of research teams' capacity at the country's medical universities for coronavirus disease.
Saeed Namaki said that given the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran, the study of different aspects of the disease requires that several research teams of all universities of medical sciences and health services pay attention to this issue.
He emphasized that cases such as prevalence, age distribution, effectiveness of medicine, mortality rate and its relation with age, sex and race, impact of care, nature and behavior of the virus and possible mutations, epidemiological and Its contagion, traceability of primary sources of infection, locations and date of onset of disease in the country, impact of social behavior on disease spread, impact of disease on community mental health or effective prevention methods, social, political and economic consequences of disease, comparison of our country with other countries and dozens Another aspect can be important research topics.
"The results of this research could, in addition to gathering documentation of this important period, help our colleagues in reforming disease control and enforcement practices," Namaki added in his letter.
Iran’s minister of health reiterated that the use of the capacity of research teams in the universities of medical sciences and health services of the country can certainly be the most important tool to assist this research and be used in the national arena.
He added that obviously, all departments will cooperate with Dr. Malekzadeh's research and technology department to transfer information and findings.
Iranian knowledge-based companies have made planning to produce coronavirus test kits which will go to market within a month, secretary of biotechnology development committee of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology said.
Mostafa Ghanei said that diagnosis is the most important part of treating coronavirus.
He added that coronavirus-affected people are now being tested by kits which have been bought by the World Health Organization, China and UNICEF.
The biotechnology development committee of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology invited knowledge-based companies to start making test kits, he noted.
From among 50 applicants, five firms have been selected and a contract has also been signed with them, Ghanei said.
Head of Iran's Health Ministry Public Relations Office Kianoush Jahanpour said on Sunday that 2,134 people out of a total of 6566 infected by the coronavirus have survived the deadly disease while 194 have unfortunately succumbed to death.
Jahanpour said that 734 new affected cases have been identified since yesterday.
Some 49 deaths occurred over the past 24 hours, he added.
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