Two drugs already in use could be effective in fighting SARS, National Health Research Institutes researchers said yesterday.
The anti-psychotic drug Promazine and Niclosamide, a drug which is used in the treatment of worm infections, may be able to fight the SARS virus, according to the government-run institute.
"After different experiments, we have proved that these two kinds of drugs have a significant effect in inhibiting the replication of SARS-coronavirus," the institute said in a statement.
The drugs would work best if used during the initial stage of a SARS infection, it said.
The institute said it had filed a patent application on May 28 with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the discovery and is now trying to develop a new anti-SARS medicine based on the finding.
Researchers had produced more than 10 new compounds that were effective in controlling SARS-coronavirus based on Promazine's formula, the institute said.
But further experiments were required to test their clinical effects and safety on humans, it said.
SARS killed 774 people out of 8,098 cases worldwide, according to the latest toll of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO on Sept. 26 revised Taiwan's death toll from the epidemic down from 180 to 37 after ruling that 143 of the fatalities had not in fact died from the disease.
A team of researchers, led by Marie Lin (
According to their findings, the severity of SARS was shown to be significantly associated with the HLA-B46 gene found in people across the region.
In an effort to prevent a resurgence of the deadly epidemic this winter, the government will reopen a "Fever Hotline" on Nov. 15 to give consultations to people in doubt about their health.
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
Singapore yesterday swore in Lawrence Wong (黃循財) as the city-state’s new prime minister in a ceremony broadcast live on television after Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) stepped down following two decades in office. Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8pm to become the second person outside the Lee family to lead the nation. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as prime minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God,” the
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,
MUSICAL INTERLUDE: During the altercations, KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin at one point pulled out a flute and started to play the national anthem A massive brawl erupted between governing and opposition lawmakers in the main chamber of the legislature in Taipei yesterday over legislative reforms. President-elect William Lai (賴清德) is to be inaugurated on Monday, but his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in the legislature and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been working with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to promote their mutual ideas. The opposition parties said the legislative reforms would enable better oversight of the Executive Yuan, including a proposal to criminalize officials who are deemed to make false statements in the legislature. “The DPP does not want this to be