Coronavirus

 

Many readers will probably have heard of and are following the news regarding a new virus that was discovered in China in these days.  It is dangerous as it can lead to pneumonia and has already caused hundreds of infections and also some deaths1 and there is evidence of being passed on between humans, and so can grow into an epidemic.

 

I’ve heard the word ‘virus’ ever since I was a young boy, mostly when being visited by a doctor to look into a cold, who’d then inform my parents that I had ‘got a virus’.  I used to imagine a virus as a tiny animal, perhaps some small mosquito, flying from one animal to the next, or from a person to another, to give him or her a hard time.

 

I was surprised to learn later on that a virus, although a being, is not strictly considered alive, as it does not have one of the principal attributes associated with living beings, that is the ability to reproduce independently.  In fact, a virus first has to infect an extraneous cell in some way, insert its genome which defines its structure and functions (made from RNA – ribonucleic acid, or from DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid) in the cell, then finally replicates within the cell that is serving as its hotel.

 

I had heard the word ‘coronavirus’ the first time in the context of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which is a pulmonary disease that also reared its head in China in 2003.  The word ‘corona’ is a Latin one with means a crown or halo, and refers to the image of proteins resembling needles pointing outwards surrounding completely the virus, very much like a crown.  These proteins are used to infect the external cell.

 

The SARS infection had jumped over to humans from a mammal called a civet, an animal that reminds me very much of a possum.  The fatality rate is estimated at 9-12% of the 8000 infections that occurred.

 

SARS was not the first coronavirus that was discovered.  In all there were seven that were found in mankind, the first in the sixties, and are one of the genuses of virus that result in colds.  Other examples of coronavirus were found in other animals.

 

You might also remember MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) that originate in Saudi Arabia in 2012, infecting about 2000 people with a fatality rate of 30%.

 

This new virus seems to have originated in the city of Wuhan, in a fish market at the centre of the country, and up till now has spread to other countries in Asia, such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand amongst others.  Several countries are on alert for its entry there.  Apart from Asia, infections have been confirmed in Austrlaia, the United States and France, all with connection to Wuhan.

 

Although the implications of all this is of concern, until the time of writing there had not het been a declaration of a public health emergency by the WHO – World Health Organisation, although this declaration is being considered.

 

I remember the pandemonium that had arisen upon appearance of SARS and MERS, and fear another period on its way with many stories of concern, to be added to those about the bushfires spread out along the Australian continent that have been burning for months.

 

May God be with us!

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Ħafna mill-qarrejja aktarx semgħu jew qed isegwu l-aħbarijiet dwar virus ġdid li ġie skopert fiċ-Ċina dawn l-aħħar ġranet.  Huwa perikoluż għax iwassal għall-pnewmonja u diġà kkawża mijiet ta’ infezzjonijiet u wkoll xi mwiet1 u hemm evidenza li qed jingħadda minn bniedem għall-ieħor, u għalhekk jista’ jikber f’epidemija.

 

Il-kelma ‘virus’ ilni nismagħha minn meta kont tifel, l-iktar meta nkun invistat minn tabib għal xi riħ, u jinforma lill-ġenituri tiegħi li kont ‘laqqatt virus’.  Kont nimmaġina lil virus bħala xi speċi ta’ annimal żgħir ħafna, forsi xi nemusa żgħira, li kien itir minn annimal għall-ieħor, jew bniedem għall-ieħor, biex itih kedda.

 

Kont sorpriż nitgħallem iktar ‘il quddiem li l-virus, għalkemm ħlieqa, mhix strettament meqjusa ħajja, għax m’għandhiex wieħed mill-attributi prinċipali assoċjati mal-ħlejjaq ħajjin, jiġifieri dik li tirriproduċi ruħha waħedha.  Fil-fatt, il-virus l-ewwel tinfetta xi ċellula barranija b’xi mod, iddeffes il-ġenomu li jiddefinixxu l-istruttura u l-funzjonijiet tagħha (magħmul mill-RNA – ribonucleic acid jew mid-DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid) fiċ-cellula, imbagħad tirreplika fiċ-ċellula li tkun qed isservi ta’ lukanda.

 

Il-kelma ‘coronavirus’ smajtha għall-ewwel darba fil-kuntest tal-infezzjoni SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) li hija marda tal-pulmun li wkoll kienet tfaċċat fiċ-Ċina fl-2003.  Il-kelma ‘corona’ hija waħda Latina li tfisser kuruna jew raġġiera, tirreferi għad-dehra tal-proteini b’forma ta’ labar li jkunu mdawrin kompletament madwar il-virus, appuntu qishom ‘kuruna’.  Dawn il-proteini jintużaw biex jinfettaw liċ-ċellula barranija.

 

L-infezzjoni tas-SARS kien qabeż minn mammalu jismu civet, annimal li narah jixbaħ mhux ħażin lill-possum.  Ir-rata ta’ fatalità hija stmata li hija ta’ 9-12% tat-8000 infezzjonijiet li seħħew.

 

Is-SARS ma kinetx l-ewwel coronavirus li ġiet skoperta.  B’kollox hemm sebgħa li ġew misjuba fil-bniedem, l-ewwel waħda fis-sittinijiet, u huma waħda mill-ġnus ta’ virus li jikkawżaw l-irjeħat fin-nies.  Eżempji oħra ta’ coronavirus nstabu f’annimali oħra,

 

Forsi tiftakru wkoll il-MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) li oriġinat fl-Arabja Sawdita fl-2012, u infettat lil xi 2000 ruħ b’fatalità ta’ 30%.

 

Din il-virus il-ġdid jidher li oriġinat fil-belt ta’ Wuhan, f’suq tal-ħut fiċ-ċentru tal-pajjiż, u s’issa nxtered f’xi pajjiżi oħra fl-Asja, bħall-Ġappun, il-Korea t’Isfel u t-Tajlandja fost l-oħrajn.  Diversi pajjiżi qiegħdin għassa għad-dħul tiegħu fil-pajjiż.  Barra l-Asja, ġew ikkonfermati infezzjonijiet fl-Awstralja, l-Istati Uniti u Franza, kollha b’konnessjoni ma’ Wuhan.

 

Għalkemm hemm tħassib dwar l-implikazzjonijiet ta’ dan kollu, sakemm qed jinkiteb dan l-artiklu kienet għadha ma ġietx iddikjarata emerġenza tas-saħħa pubblika mill-Organizzazzjoni Dinjija tas-Saħħa (WHO – World Health Organisation), għalkemm din id-dikjarazzjoni qiegħda tiġi kkunsidrata.

 

Niftakar il-pandemonju li kien qam meta kienu tfaċċaw is-SARS u l-MERS, u wisq nibża li ġej żmien ieħor ta’ stejjer ta’ preokkupazzjoni, biex inżiduhom ma’ dawk fuq in-nirien mifruxa mal-kontinent Awstraljan li ilhom jaħarqu x-xhur.

Alla magħna!

 

1https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51185836, retrieved 21/1/2019

1https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51185836, retrieved 21/1/2019

Mallacoota

 

Around Christmas time, my family was in the region of East Gippsland in Victoria.  We spent a couple of days camped at Genoa, just out from the road leading to the picturesque village of Mallacoota, which apart from the beauty of its coast and natural environment, happens to be one of the places in that region we can rest assured to find a mass there on the day of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

This is important for us as in the vicinity, the availability of churches is as dry as the rest of the continent, as it is a miracle to find one, of whatever denomination.

 

In fact, Mallacoota has one church, that of St Peter, which is run in cooperation between the Uniting Church of Australia and the Anglican Church.  This year we had a pleasant surprise, as the mass was said by a female priest.  To tell you the truth, the format was almost identical to that we were used to in Catholic churches, and so I did not feel at all out of place.

 

She directed the proceedings rather informally, and the sermon, naturally about the birth of baby Jesus, was sweet and interesting, with the assistance of a presentation and animation.  Afterwards, the congregation was invited to a small party where we had the opportunity of quickly getting to know the small community of volunteers there.

 

We often find ourselves in this situation, where the ability to hear mass or participate in a service, depends upon the Christian denomination that we manage to find in the remote location we find ourselves in.  Once a few years ago we did not even find a Christian service, but an ecumenical service that was open to all religions.

 

The Catholic Church has its Canon Law number 844 that permits as an exception under several conditions that a Catholic person can receive some sacraments including communion from non-Catholic ministers where the sacraments are valid, when Catholic ministers cannot be approached.  Nevertheless the fact that the celebration was carried out by a woman, which our Church does not approve, and does not even approve Anglican ordinations, probably makes this exception not applicable in this case.

 

I have to admit not to losing much sleep about it.

 

What did cause me to loose sleep and cause concert was the persistent smell and presence of a smoky haze throughout our trip, although we actually never saw fire directly.  After leaving Mallacoota, we continued camping along the coast of East Gippsland until we had to leave one site next to Lake Tayers due to fear of fires.

 

It was with great regret later to learn about the fire also attacking Mallacoota village, and until the time of writing, there were still people trapped in this village, next to the coast to escape the flames, being unable to leave along the single road that from Mallacoota leads to Genoa.

 

It was extraordinary to read about vessels from the Australian naval fleet having to be used to evacuate locals and tourists from the place, and operation that is still under way.

 

I can only imagine the dense forest you see as you’re driving towards Mallacoota on the narrow road winding hither and tither, who knows what’s left of it.  I read stories of people who said they heard koalas screeching while the trees they were on became alight and were burnt alive.  As horrible as it gets.

With sorrow in this hell are the millions of hectares in hundreds of individual fires, the deaths of some people, both those fighting the fires and others defending their properties, the loss of probably hundreds of residences and other structures, apart from an estimate of a billion animals lost, with the fear of some extinctions.

 

Further sorrow comes from acknowledging the story is not over just yet, and other days of high temperatures are expected, with new or increased risks.

 

I think also about the congregation of Mallacoota I met on that Christmas day, where we rejoiced together on the coming of Jesus despite the formal differences of our denominations.  There were families with kids, the elderly and others, some of whom we talked to and shared a bite together.  I think of them, of the woman priest that led the Chrisian community there gathered in prayer, in the tiny church that welcomed us on that day.

 

I pray for them all.

 

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Fil-ġranet tal-Milied, il-familja tiegħi kienet fir-reġjun ta’ East Gippsland ta’ Victoria.  Għamilna jumejn ikkampjati f’Genoa, ftit ‘il barra mit-triq li tagħti għall-villaġġ pittoresk ta’ Mallacoota, li apparti l-isbuħija tax-xatt u l-ambjent naturali tiegħu, huwa wieħed mill-postijiet li konna moħħna mistrieħ li nistgħu nisimgħu quddiesa hemmhekk fil-ġurnata tat-twelid ta’ Sidna Ġesù Kristu.

 

Dan importanti għalina għaliex fl-inħawi, il-knejjes huma niexfin qoxqox daqs il-bqija tal-kontinent, għax trid tagħmel wegħda biex issib waħda, ta’ liema denominazzjoni tkun.

 

Fil-fatt, f’Mallacoota hemm knisja waħda, dik ta’ St Peter, li hija kooperazzjoni bejn il-Uniting Church of Australia u l-Knisja Anglikana.  Din is-sena kellna sorpriża sabiħa, għax il-quddiesa tqaddset minn qassis mara.  Biex ngħid id-dritt, il-format kien kważi identiku għal dak li mdorri bih fil-knejjes Kattoliċi, u għalhekk ma ħassejtni xejn barra minn posti.

 

Il-quddiesa għamlitha pjuttost informali, u kellha l-priedka, naturalment madwar it-twelid tal-Bambin, ħelwa u interessanti, bl-għajnuna ta’ preżentazzjoni u animazzjoni.  Wara l-kongregazzjoni kienet mistedna għal festin żgħir fejn kellna l-opportunità li nsiru nafu ftit fuq il-komunità żgħira ta’ voluntiera t’hemmhekk.

 

Ġieli insibu ruħna f’din is-sitwazzjoni, fejn li nkunu nistgħu nisimgħu quddiesa, jew nipparteċipaw f’servizz, jiddependi fuq id-denominazzjoni Nisranija li jirnexxielna nsibu fil-post imwarrab li nkunu fih.  Darba minnhom snin ilu lanqas biss sibna servizz nisrani, imma servizz ekumeniku li kien miftuħ għal kull reliġjon.

 

Il-Knisja Kattolika għandha Liġi Kanonika 844 li tippermetti bħala eċċezzjoni taħt diversi kundizzjonijiet li Kattoliku jirċievi xi sagramenti inklużi l-ewkaristija minn ministri mhux Kattoliċi fejn is-sagramenti jkunu validi, meta ministri Kattoliċi ma jkunx possibbli li jiġu avviċinati.  Madankollu l-fatt li t-tqaddis sar minn mara, li l-Knisja tagħna ma tapprovax u lanqas ma tapprova l-ordinazzjonijiet Anglikani, aktarx li jagħmel din l-eċċezzjoni mhux applikabbli fil-każ tagħna.

 

Ikolli ngħarraf li ma tantx tlift irqad bl-għali.

 

Li tellifni l-irqad u tani nkwiet mhux ħażin kienet ir-riħa persistenti u ċ-ċpar ta’ duħħan li kellna matul il-ġita tagħna, għalkemm nar dirett qatt ma rajna.  Wara li ħallejna lil Mallacoota, komplejna nikkampjaw mal-kosta ta’ East Gippsland sakemm kellna nitilqu bil-biża’ ta’ nirien f’kamp minnhom maġemb Lake Tayers.

 

Kien b’sogħba kbira nsiru nafu wara li n-nar hebb ukoll għall-villaġġ ta’ Mallacoota, u sakemm qiegħed nikteb, għad hemm ħafna nies maqbudin f’dan il-villaġġ, qrib tax-xatt biex jaħarbu min-nirien, ma jistgħux joħroġu mill-uniku triq li minn Mallacoota tgħaddi għal Genoa.

 

Ħaġa straordinarja kienet li naqraw li bastimenti mill-flotta navali Awstraljana kellha tintuża biex tevakwa lin-nies lokali u turisti mill-post, operazzjoni li għadha għaddejja s’issa.

 

Nista’ biss nimmaġina dik il-foresta folta int u ssuq lejn Mallacoota fuq triq dejqa ddur ‘l hawn u ‘l hemm, min jaf x’baqa’ minnha.  Qrajt fuq nies li semgħu lill-koalas iwerżqu waqt li s-siġar li kienu fuqhom ħadu n-nar u nħarqu ħajjin.  Orribbli għall-aħħar.

 

Ta’ dieqa wkoll li f’dan l-infern ta’ miljuni ta’ ettari f’mijiet ta’ ħuġġieġi, mietu xi nies ukoll, kemm dawk involuti fit-tifi tan-nar u kemm nies tal-post, u ntilfu aktarx mijiet ta’ residenzi u strutturi oħra, apparti stima ta’ biljun annimal, bil-biża’ ta’ xi estinzjonijiet.

 

Iktar ta’ dieqa hu li l-istorja għadha ma spiċċatx, u huwa mistennija ġranet oħra ta’ temperaturi għoljin u riskji ġodda jew imkabbra.

 

Naħseb ukoll fil-kongregazzjoni ta’ Mallacoota li ltqajt magħha f’jum il-Milied dakinhar, fejn fraħna flimkien bil-miġja ta’ Ġesù minkejja d-differenzi formali tad-denominazzjonijiet tagħna.  Kien hemm familji bit-tfal, nies anzjani u oħrajn, uħud minnhom kellimnihom u trejjaqna flimkien.  Naħseb fihom, fil-qassis mara li mexxiet lill-komunità Nisranija hemm miġbura fit-talb, fil-knisja ċkejkna li laqgħatna dakinhar.  

 

Nitlob għalihom ilkoll.