Researchers in Hong Kong have found that patients experiencing milder illness caused by the novel coronavirus recover more quickly if they are treated with a three-drug antiviral cocktail soon after symptoms appear.
Authors of the study, published in The Lancet on Friday, described the findings as “early, but important.”
They called for larger-scale research on critically ill patients to ascertain if the drug combo could be a viable treatment for them, too.
“Our trial demonstrates that early treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 with a triple combination of antiviral drugs may rapidly suppress the amount of virus in a patient’s body,” said University of Hong Kong professor of microbiology Yuen Kwok-yung (袁國勇), who led the research.
The treatment, which appeared safe in patients, was shown to “relieve symptoms, and reduce the risk to healthcare workers by reducing the duration and quantity of viral shedding (when the virus is detectable and potentially transmissible),” Yuen wrote.
Scientists are racing to identify medicines to use against COVID-19, but there is currently no treatment, cure or vaccine.
The study tracked the virus in 127 adults admitted to six hospitals in Hong Kong after they tested positive.
Of those participating, 86 were given a two-week course of three medicines: interferon beta-1b, a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis; a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir used to fight HIV; and ribavirin, used to treat hepatitis.
A randomly assigned control group of 41 people was just given the lopinavir-ritonavir combination.
Treatment began on average five days after symptoms started and all patients otherwise received standard care, including oxygen therapy.
Researchers then measured how long it took for a swab test for the virus to turn out negative. They found that those taking all three medicines were able to clear the coronavirus in seven days on average (between five and 11 days) — “significantly” shorter than the 12-day average for the control group.
Those on the three-drug regimen also saw a complete alleviation of their symptoms in an average of four days, compared with eight for the control group.
“Future clinical study of a double antiviral therapy with interferon beta-1b as a backbone is warranted,” the study said.
Three cases of Candida auris, a fungus that can cause a yeast infection known as candidiasis in humans, have been reported in Taiwan over the past few years, but they did not display drug resistance, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday. Lo made the statement at a news conference in Taipei, one day after the Washington Post reported that the potentially deadly fungus is spreading in US hospitals. The fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and poses a danger to immunocompromised people, with an estimated mortality rate of 30 to 60 percent, Lo
‘COINCIDENCE’: The former president should keep in mind local and global response to his actions and abide by the law to safeguard national interests, the MAC said The Presidential Office yesterday confirmed that it has received an application from former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to visit China next week and would be discussing his security detail. “As the travel restrictions on former president Ma have expired, we respect his plan to pay respect to his ancestors in China,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said. “We will review his travel plan and consult concerned agencies to assist him in arranging his security detail.” “We also hope that Ma, as a former commander in chief of Taiwan, acts in a manner that aligns with national interests and does not hurt
‘DIRE’: Taiwan would not engage in ‘dollar diplomacy,’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, after China reportedly offered Honduras up to US$3 billion to establish relations The government yesterday recalled its ambassador to Honduras after the Central American nation sent its foreign minister to China, signaling that it would sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Suspicions concerning ties with Honduras are rife after Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday last week wrote on Twitter that her country would pursue diplomatic ties with China. Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina traveled to China on Wednesday “to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations” on instructions from Castro, Reuters yesterday quoted Honduran presidential spokesman Ivis Alvarado as saying. The government “has decided to immediately recall the ambassador to Honduras
‘NOTHING NEW’: China should not use Tsai Ing-wen’s transits through the US as a pretext to step up aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait, a Washington official said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to stop over in the US on her way to and from Central America next week, but her administration would not confirm a meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Tsai’s delegation is to leave Taipei on Wednesday next week and stop over in New York City, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) told a news conference yesterday. Tsai is then to head to Guatemala on Saturday next week for talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and to meet with Taiwanese expatriates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. On April 3, Tsai is scheduled to travel
RSS