A recent report out of Thailand claims that an anti-viral
cocktail administered to a Thai patient infected with the 2019-nCoV coronavirus has resulted in a
dramatic improvement in symptoms.
JewishPress.com reports
that Dr. Kriengsak Attipornwanich of Thailand’s Health Ministry announced
the news on Sunday, February 2, 2020. According to him, the patient initially
tested positive for the new coronavirus. The anti-influenza drug oseltamivir,
along with and lopinavir and ritonavir, was administered to the patient. Lopinavir
and ritonavir are both anti-viral drugs used to treat HIV.
Forty-eight hours
later, lab tests on the patient for the coronavirus were negative, and the
patient appeared much improved.
Research is continuing
to replicate these results and confirm the drugs’ effectiveness in other
patients.
This report comes as worldwide infection has now surpassed 20,000 cases in at least twenty-five nations. Experts are predicting this strain
of coronavirus will become pandemic, or global. The U.S. administration has
declared a public health emergency. Eleven people are now confirmed with the
disease in the U.S., with no deaths to date. The World Health Organization has
declared a global emergency, and the Centers for Disease Control has issued an advisory
against nonessential travel to China.
Although frightening because of its high contagion,
the 2019-nCoV coronavirus is still much less deadly than this year’s influenza.
It’s important to keep from panicking, use common sense in general caregiving tasks, and practice standard infection control to lessen the
chances of acquiring either disease.
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