Coronavirus cure: When we go get drug to treat am?
Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images
- Author, James Gallagher
- Role, Health and science correspondent
More dan 150,000 pipo don die with Covid-19, but still no confam drugs dey to help doctors treat di disease.
So wia we dey today for di journey to get di life-saving medicines?
Which work dey happun to find treatments?
More dan 150 different drugs naim dem dey research around di world. Most of dem na drugs wey don dey wey dem dey test with di virus.
- Di World Health Organization (WHO) don launch the Solidarity trial to chook eye inside di treatments wey dey more promising.
- Di UK say dia Recovery trial na di the world's biggest, with more dan 5,000 patients wey already dey take part inside.
- And plenti research centres around di world dey try attempting to use survivors' blood as treatment.
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Which type of drugs fit work?
Na three tins dem dey investigate:
- Antiviral drugs wey dey directly affect coronavirus ability to survive inside di body
- Drugs wey fit calm di immune system - patients become seriously ill wen dia immune system overreact and start to dey cause ogbonge damage to di body
- Antibodies, either from di blood of pipo wey survive, or di wan dem make for lab, wey fit attack di virus.
Which one be di most promising coronavirus drug?
Dr Bruce Aylward, from di World Health Organization, say na remdesivir be di only drug wey show any signs of effectiveness, after im visit China.
Dem originally design di antiviral drug to treat Ebola, but oda options turn out to be more effective.
Since den di drug don also show say e dey effective to treat oda deadly coronaviruses (Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome) for animal studies, wey lead to hope say e go dey effective against di Covid-19 coronavirus.
Na one of di four drugs wey dey di WHO Solidarity trial and di manufacturer, Gilead, dey also organise trials.
End of Di one wey oda users dey read well well
HIV drugs fit treat coronavirus?
Plenti toks dey but little evidence naim dey ground say HIV drugs - lopinavir and ritonavir - go dey effective to treat coronavirus.
Evidence dey say e fit work for laboratory, but studies dem do with pipo dey have been disappointing.
Di combination no improve recovery, reduce deaths or lower di level of di virus with patients wey get serious Covid-19.
Even so, as dem do di trial with very sick patients (nearly one quarter die) e fit don dey too late with di infection for di drugs to work.
Malaria drugs fit stop coronavirus?
Malaria drugs dey part of both di Solidarity and Recovery trials.
Chloroquine, and anoda one, hydroxychloroquine, fit get antiviral and immune-calming properties.
Pipo dey chook eye say di drugs fit be potential coronavirus therapies, especially afta President Donald Trump claim, but small evidence naim dey say e dey effective.
Dem dey also use Hydroxychloroquine as treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, because e fit help regulate di immune system.
Laboratory tests don show say e fit hinder coronavirus, and some unofficial evidence from doctors say e be like say e dey help patients.
But di WHO say no ogbonge evidence dey say e dey effective.
What about immune drugs?
If di immune system overreact to di virus den e fit cause inflammation throughout di body. Dis one fit help di immune system to fight di infection, but too much of am fit cause ogbonge damage throughout di body and e fit be deadly.
Di Solidarity trial dey investigate interferon beta, wey dem dey use to treat multiple sclerosis, and dey lowers inflammation. Interferons na group of chemicals wey di body dey release wen e dey under attack by virus.
Di UK Recovery Trial dey investigate dexamethasone - one type of steroid wey dem dey use to reduce inflammation.
Blood of pesin wey survive fit treat coronavirus?
Pipo wey survive infection suppose get antibodies for dia blood wey fit attack di virus.
Di idea na say you go take di blood plasma (di part wey contain di antibodies) and give am to di sick patient as therapy.
Di US don already treat 500 patients with wetin dem dey call "convalescent plasma", and oda kontries don dey get involved too.
How long until we go get cure?
E dey too soon to know wen we fit get drug wey go fit treat coronavirus.
But di results of di different trials and tests go show in di next few months. Dis one early pass wen dem dey know if vaccine (wey dey protect against infection rather dan to treat am) dey effective.
Dis na because doctors dey test drugs wey dem don already develop and wey evidence show say e dey safe enough to use, whereas vaccine researchers go dey start from scratch.
Dem dey also test some totally new, experimental, coronavirus drugs for di laboratory but e never ready yet for human tests .
Why we need treatment?
Di most obvious reason why pipo dey call for treatment na say e go save lives, but e fit also allow make dem lift some lockdown measures.
To get effective treatment go make coronavirus disease wey no too get power.
So how doctors dey treat patients now?
If you catch coronavirus, den for most people e go be small tin wey pesi fit treat for house with bed-rest, paracetamol and plenty liquids.
But some pipo need more intensive hospital treatment, wey go involve oxygen support like ventilation.
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