The novel Corona virus plunges the world into crisis and Germany is struggling to slow the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, scientists and medical researchers around the world are researching vaccines and medicines that could help against Sars-CoV-2. The list of research projects and tests is long. Important: So far there are no vaccines and medications that have been proven to work against Covid-19. In this news blog we keep you up to date with the latest developments in this field.
The Guardian writes, for example, that Chinese health authorities report a Japanese flu drug that is said to be effective against the coronavirus, referring to Japanese media reports. The drug favipiravir was developed to treat new strains of the influenza virus (more on this below).
Thursday, March 19: Covid-19 pandemic can only be suppressed with at least 18 months of consistent isolation, researchers estimate
A team of researchers from the Imperial College in London examined two possible scenarios in a study of how one could react to the coronavirus pandemic. Their predictions refer to the United Kingdom and the United States and appear to be the basis for the drastic measures in these two countries.
On the one hand, the researchers examined what it would mean to slow down the spread of the virus and at the same time build up immunity in the population – and on the other hand, what the consequences would be of consistently suppressing the pandemic. The Financial Times has shown in various graphics what the scenarios mean.
Braking is about slowing down the spread of the virus, but not necessarily stopping it from spreading. This scenario aims to relieve the health system and protect high-risk patients. To slow down the virus, the researchers combined a number of measures in their model calculation: Symptomatically ill people would be isolated, household members should go into voluntary quarantine. You should also keep your distance from people over the age of seventy.
If you want to suppress the pandemic consistently, the number of infections must be kept low in the long term. This only works if the entire population isolates – regardless of what that means for the economy and social life of the people.
According to the researchers, there are challenges in both scenarios: if the spread of Covid-19 is slowed down, the scientists expect half as many deaths. But the – then slowed down – Epidemic would still kill hundreds of thousands.
To try to suppress the epidemic with isolation measures for the entire population would have to the researchers believe that these measures can be maintained for 18 months or longer. Because: If the measures were relaxed without an available vaccine, the number of infected people would quickly rise again due to a lack of immunity in the population.
A major problem that became clear during the simulation of the researchers is the insufficient number of hospital beds. While they assume in the study that every patient can be treated, the reality is different.
If nothing is done to prevent the spread of Covid-19, all available beds would be occupied in the second week of April. At the height of the epidemic, only one of 30 patients in need of intensive care could be treated appropriately.
If you manage to slow down the coronavirus pandemic, the need for people who need intensive care will decrease by two thirds, the researchers show. If countries take even more drastic measures, hospitals could even handle the number of patients.
This would require isolating people with symptoms and closing schools and universities for five months. In addition, everyone would have to limit their social contacts by 75 percent. The researchers do not calculate what price – economically, healthily and socially – society would have to pay for it.
Wednesday, March 18: How useful is treatment with malaria medication for corona disease?
Whether that makes sense the Tübingen Institute for Tropical Medicine now wants to find out in a study on humans. According to institute director Peter Kremsner, tests in a test tube showed that chloroquine is effective against many viruses, including Sars-CoV-2. However, it is unclear whether the use of the drug in China and Italy was successful.
Some of the sick people received chloroquine in very high doses along with many other medications. “It may also be that it doesn’t work or even harm,” says Kremsner. The Tübingen tropical doctors want to treat a test group suffering from moderate Covid-19. The application for the study is to be submitted to the Tübingen Ethics Committee on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, virologist Christian Drosten criticized a similar study in Marseille in the NDR podcast and dampened hope for an early drug that would work against the coronavirus. Drosten warned that just because a substance acts against the virus in cell culture does it not behave in humans.
The study was problematic, among other things, because only the number of viruses was measured. However, there are no reliable criteria at all – Drosten therefore recommends measuring the success of treatment at the clinical outcome. The study could not tell whether chloroquine would help against corona disease.
Japanese flu drug appears to help with coronavirus infection
Chinese health officials report a Japanese flu drug that is said to work against the coronavirus, the Guardian writes, citing Japanese media reports. The drug favipiravir was developed to treat new strains of the influenza virus.
In a clinical study on 340 people in Wuhan and Shenzhen, the drug was administered to those infected with coronavirus. Patients who had taken favipiravir were negative for the coronavirus four days after taking it. In comparison, those who were not treated with favipiravir took eleven days to become Covid-19 negative.
[Weitere Informationen über das Coronavirus in Deutschland und der Welt finden Sie hier im Newsblog]
Tuesday, March 17: Corona viruses can be detected on surfaces for hours
The novel corona virus is, according to one study Detectable on surfaces even after hours. A group of researchers from Princeton and the University of California at Los Angeles, among others, found the virus on copper surfaces after four hours.
Covid-19 survives up to 24 hours on cardboard, and two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. The so-called infection dose of the viruses was reduced significantly on all surfaces over these periods. According to the Federal Ministry for Risk Assessment, smear infection is possible, but “in general, human corona viruses are not particularly stable on dry surfaces.”
So far there have been no cases in which people have been shown to be infected by contact with contaminated objects.
Virologist discovers another symptom in Covid-19 patients
Virologist Hendrik Streeck has examined numerous coronavirus patients in quarantine at home and discovered another symptom: “Almost all of the infected people we interviewed, and this applies to a good two thirds, described a loss of smell and taste lasting several days,” he said in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
It is not necessarily likely that this knowledge will help with the initial diagnosis. Because loss of smell and taste is a symptom that is also comparatively common in other respiratory infections.
Otherwise, the virologist was able to confirm the course of the disease, which is already known from other countries, for Germany as well. 91 percent of those infected showed only mild to moderate symptoms, such as dry cough and fever. In addition, 30 percent of the cases would have had diarrhea – “this is more common than previously thought”.
Monday, March 16th, 2020: First tests for a corona vaccine
In Seattle, the first woman was injected with a possible vaccine against the coronavirus. She volunteered and is part of the first phase of clinical testing at a Seattle research institute. A total of 45 adults between 18 and 55 will test the vaccine. The tests will take approximately six weeks.
Covid-19 vaccines are currently being researched around the world. To speed up the process, scientists are working with innovative processes, as reported by the NDR. Only the genetic information of the virus is required and not the viruses themselves as before.
Background about the corona virus:
Researchers in Munich and Marburg, for example, work with so-called viral vectors, which are harmless to humans. They contain part of the genetic information of the virus and infiltrate this information directly into the cells, which then produce an envelope of the coronavirus. The immune system can thus prepare for the appearance of the real virus.
The pharmaceutical company CureVac, like others, works with a promising new technology and uses so-called messenger or messenger RNA (mRNA) as a tool. The mRNA is said to stimulate the body to produce protein and thus to specifically fight infections or cancer cells.
The Robert Koch Institute has dampened hopes of an early vaccine against the coronavirus. “Personally, I consider it realistic that it will be in spring 2021,” said President Lothar Wieler on Wednesday. Everything that is bureaucratically feasible must be done. Clinical test phases cannot be shortened. Because the vaccines should be one thing above all: safe.
Could an Ebola drug help Covid sufferers?
The Ebola drug remdesivir is currently being tested in two studies in coronavirus patients. The active ingredient of the American manufacturer Gilead has not yet been approved in any country. Years ago he was tested on Ebola sufferers. He had proven safe, but not effective.
However, the drug has been shown to be effective in laboratory tests against MERS and SARS pathogens, Gilead writes on its website. It is now considered a promising tool in the treatment of serious corona diseases.
Remdesivir will also be tested in the studies in Germany. From the beginning of April, Covid 19 patients are to be treated with the Ebola drug at the university clinics in Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Munich-Schwabing.
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