Local orthopaedic surgeon beats Covid-19

On Sunday night, March 15, the country sat glued in front of their televisions as President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act. Earlier the same day, Mbombela-based orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Alex Kuhn, heard the devastating news that he had tested positive for Covid-19 coronavirus.

Kuhn, his wife Linda (who also later tested positive), and a group of friends had recently returned from a holiday in Europe and he resumed his work immediately.

The knock-on effect of Dr Kuhn’s diagnosis was that any of 15 doctors, 30 hospital personnel and a list of direct contacts might have been infected. This led to the self-isolation of approximately 300 people.

Dr Kuhn personally contacted each one on his contact list to inform them of the prescribed regulations of self-isolation.
The next day, Busamed Lowveld Hospital, after consultation with the Department of Health, took the decision to close the hospital for surgical admissions from March 15 to 29.

Mediclinic Nelspruit was affected to a lesser extent with only a few healthcare professionals who had to go into self-isolation.

This past Monday, April 6, it had been three weeks since the news hit, and only one more person has contracted the virus as a result of direct contact with Dr Kuhn.

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Dr Attie van Wyk, whom Dr Kuhn consulted, told Lowvelder that it clearly indicated how self-isolation could flatten the curve. “It is extremely important that South Africans take heed of the government’s regulations and adhere to the lockdown rules. You have to minimise contact with others as far as possible.”

The impact of self-isolation is far more severe than the current lockdown rules. Those affected remained in total isolation in their rooms or homes and had no contact with friends or family.

One doctor described it as follows: “My family delivered my food in front of my bedroom door and afterwards I washed the dishes in the room and sanitised them, before putting them out again. Apart from social media and the Internet, I was confined to a small space, which was certainly not an easy feat.”

Dr Van Wyk tested negative twice during his lockdown period and said they (doctors and contacts) practically experienced how one could stop the spread of the virus through social-distancing and isolation.

“Busamed doctors set an example to our community.”

The news of Dr Kuhn’s diagnosis caused some upset in the Lowveld community and he was criticised on social media for returning to work after his European holiday. Dr Kuhn spoke to the newspaper this week and said he would have never intentionally put his patients or colleagues’ lives at risk. “Upon my return, I had a backlog due to travel delays and immediately started working. At that stage there were no travel restrictions and no advice to self-isolate.”

The financial impact his illness has had on his colleagues, the hospital and his patients, also weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Dr Kuhn has since figured out where he may have been infected.

“When we returned from Europe, our flight was cancelled due to technical problems and we had to overnight in a Zurich hotel. I believe this was where the infection happened.”

Three weeks ago when Lowvelder spoke to Dr Kuhn the day after his diagnosis, he only experienced mild symptoms. But it soon changed and Dr Kuhn became severely ill during the weeks that followed.

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“More than once, my doctors were on the verge of admitting me to hospital. The severity of the virus should not be underestimated. It is clear that virus affects patients in various degrees. Patients will most definitely react very differently to Covid-19,” said Dr Kuhn.

“My wife and the other infected person only presented with a mild illness, but I experienced high fever, body aches, shortness of breath and I lost 9kg in two weeks,” Dr Kuhn explained.

All three patients have since tested negative and are off the infected-persons list.

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On the flipside, isolation also presented doctors with an opportunity to find creative ways to interact with patients on digital platforms and a few doctors have started using the Medici application with success.

Busamed has since resumed its operations with only essential procedures being performed.

According to a press release, all Covid-19 patients are to be seen in the dedicated facilities as per instructions from the Department of Health, but Busamed confirmed that it will assist the department if the need arises.