Proposed Treatments for COVID-19

By Mary Quill First Posted: Mar 20, 2020 07:12 AM EDT

(Photo : Image by skeeze from Pixabay )

Ever since the discovery of the novel coronavirus in China to its global spread, scientists from different parts of the world are on a race to find a cure or treatment for the deadly disease.

Here are some proposed cures or treatments for the deadly novel coronavirus:

Chloroquine: An Anti-Malaria Drug

This anti-malaria drug is cheap, says an article. Also, it is available in different parts of the world. This drug had been used since 1945. It was used as a treatment for malaria and other health conditions. Additionally, this drug is safe for children and pregnant women.

In some clinical studies, the drug was successful at eliminating the coronavirus. However, the study was only conducted on a petri dish.

A study conducted in France with 24 patients suggested that it can speed up the recovery of patients.

Kaletra: A HIV Treatment Drug

Kaletra is a fusion of two antiviral drugs, the Lopinavir and the Ritonavir. These two drugs are usually used to treat HIV positive patients. Also, some clinical studies suggest that this drug has the potential of becoming a COVID-19 cure. However, in a recent study conducted in China with 200 patients who are seriously sick with the COVID-19, the drug was found to not have any benefit to those patients.

The clinical study in China does not end the possibility of the drug being a treatment to the COVID-19. There is still a possibility or treating a patient with the drug if taken in the early stage of the disease.

Kaletra is one of the drugs which the WHO will include in a large-scale multi-nation trial this week.

Favipiravir: An Anti-Flu Drug

This Japanese influenza drug, created by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, had helped cut in half the total time a person has to be positive for the COVID-19. In a Chinese clinical study of 340 people, the results suggest that the novel coronavirus can be terminated in the body in four days when the drug is taken while it takes 11 days for people who did not take the drug. Also, chest scans reveal that there is less damage seen for those who took the drug. However, the drug should be given in the early stage of the illness to see better results.

Remdesivir: An Ebola Drug

The Remdesivir was initially created to treat Ebola. However, the drug had re-emerged with a high potential of treating the COVID-19. One of the common grounds for this assumption is that it is an effective cure for more lethal coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS.

This drug fights the coronaviruses by shutting off its ability to replicate inside the cells of a person. It means that it is effective when the deadly virus is still replicating inside the respiratory tract of a person.

Therapy with Antibodies

Some doctors in China had given critically sick patients with the blood plasma of patients who recovered from the novel coronavirus. This is a method used that dates back to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

The logic behind this treatment is that the blood should have antibodies to combat the invasion. The difficulties for this solution is the widespread use of this method and the risk of transmitting other deadly diseases.