Worlds over the menace of Coronavirus is rampantly increasing. In such a scenario, is the world ready with a solution that can possibly control this strain?
There are no committed answers for this, but several countries are working on techniques in the short run. Each country is handling the cases in their own ways, by trying combinations of drugs, doing symptomatic treatment or like in China, going back to ancient medicine.
Let’s have a look at what some countries are doing to find a solution.
India –
Health minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has claimed that health workers have been trained and isolation wards have been set up in state-run hospitals. India has stopped exports of N95 masks to make sure there are enough supplies at home.
India also has an influenza surveillance programme, to test four types of flu viruses. This programme, say virologists, can be used now to test negative samples for coronavirus to find out whether it is circulating in the community.
Jaipur, India –
Doctors at the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital have successfully treated an Italian coronavirus (Covid-19) patient using a combination of HIV, swine flu and malaria drugs. The patient has now undergone the treatment and has texted negative.
ICMR was satisfied with the protocol of having a combination of two HIV drugs, which the SMS Hospital relied on. Besides, the doctors also gave her Oseltamivir, useful in swine flu treatment, and Chloroquine, useful in the treatment of malaria.
United States –
According to reports, the first human trial of a vaccine to protect against pandemic coronavirus has started in the US on March 17. A group of 45 healthy volunteers will undergo the tests at the Kaiser Permanente research facility in Seattle.
Experts say it will still take many months to know if this vaccine will be effective or not.
Germany –
Amid the menace that Coronavirus has caused worldwide, political wars have also started taking place. German ministers reacted angrily following reports that US president Donald Trump offered a German medical company “large sums of money” for exclusive rights to a Covid-19 vaccine. A German newspaper reported Trump offered $1bn to Tübingen-based biopharmaceutical company CureVac to secure the vaccine “only for the United States”.
German researchers are taking a leading role in developing medications and vaccines as part of global cooperation networks.
Gilead Sciences’ Remdesivir –
A group of scientists, about a decade ago, discovered a compound that could fight a number of viruses. They called it 3a. It is now being seen as a potential solution to reducing the intensity and duration of the coronavirus.
For years, Gilead was focused on using remdesivir in trials and towards approval for Ebola. But now, Remdesivir is being tested in five Covid-19 clinical trials that have been set up, including the first case in the US. The first trial results are expected next month.
“There’s only one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy,” Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization said last month. “And that’s remdesivir.”
China –
China has been at the centre stage of the pandemic since it reported its first case. The country has gone back to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
As of late last month, more than 85% of all coronavirus patients in China had received herbal remedies along with mainstream antiviral drugs, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Officials feel that by adjusting the whole-body health and improving immunity, TCM can help stimulate the patients’ abilities to resist and recover from the disease, which is an effective way of therapy.
Globally, about 35 companies and academic institutions are racing to create a vaccine, with at least four, ready to be tested on animals. The first of these – produced by Boston-based biotech firm Moderna – will enter human trials in April.