While healthcare experts around the world are scrambling to find a cure for the Wuhan coronavirus, doctors are doing whatever they can to help infected patients.
In recent news, doctors in Thailand may have made a breakthrough.
Thai doctors have found that a cocktail of flu and HIV drugs is helping patients to recover, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
While there is no confirmed cure yet, this may be a significant step forward in the search.
Doctors from Rajavithi Hospital said on Sunday (2 Feb) that they are testing a new treatment for the coronavirus.
3 patients were given a mixture of anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir, with the flu drug oseltamivir.
What makes their treatment different from what’s currently being used in China is a large increase in the flu drug dosage.
One patient was a 70-year-old woman from Wuhan who tested positive for the virus 10 days prior. After just 2 days of treatment, she tested negative for the virus.
Of the other 2 patients, one developed allergic reactions, but the other showed improvements in their condition.
The treatment is still in an experimental stage, meaning we can’t consider it a cure for the virus yet.
However, Dr Kriangsak Atipornwanich, a lung specialist at the hospital, said the outlook for the treatment is good so far.
Dr Kriangsak Atipornwanich
Source
The doctors have to do more research to confirm if this treatment can become standard for the new coronavirus and others like it.
Mr Somsak Akkslim, director-general of the Medical Service Department, shared that the health ministry will meet today (3 Feb) to discuss the 70-year-old patient’s successful treatment.
He added that it’s too early to use the treatment for all cases, and these drugs will be tested on “severe cases” first.
Thailand currently has 19 confirmed cases of the Wuhan virus, of which 8 have recovered.
Together with the news of Singapore successfully culturing the Wuhan virus, we hope this means that treatment for this supposedly incurable virus is in sight.
Till then, let’s practice good personal hygiene to prevent the spread of germs. Always wash your hands, whenever you can.
Featured image adapted from Google Images.
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