The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest public health challenge the world has faced in recent memory. Many health professionals are at the forefront of the response providing care, educating the public, advising the health institutions, conducting research to better understand the virus and outbreak.
Coronavirus is an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2). Its symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath and vary to several complications as pneumonia, viral sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, kidney failure, cytokine release syndrome.
As a Health Professional I request to avoid travelling and viral exposure as this virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, often through small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing and talking. People may also become infected by touching their face. Recommended measures to prevent infections including hand washing, maintaining physical distancing and quarantine.
Although several approved drugs and investigational agents has shown antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, at present there are no antiviral therapies of proven effectiveness in treating severely ill patients with COVID-19.
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) of hydroxychloroquine involving 150 adults admitted to hospitals for COVID -19 reported no significant effect of the drug on accelerating viral clearance. A RCT enrolling patients within 12 days of symptom on set found that favipiravir was superior to arbidol but not in those with critical illness.
An RCT of oral lopinavir-ritoanvir found no significant effect on primary outcome measure of time to clinical improvement. Remdesivir (GS-5734) a nucleoside analog prodrug that has a broad antiviral spectrum.
In vitro remdesivir inhibits all human and animal corona viruses tested to date, including SARS-Cov-2, remdesivir was superior to a regiment of combine interferon beta and lopinavir-ritoanvir.
As per study remdesivir is a potent inhibitor SARS-Cov-2 replication in human nasal and bronchial epithelial cells. However, the clinical and antiviral efficacy of remdesivir in COVID-19 remains to be established.
Dow university of health sciences, Pakistan has lead the efforts against the Novel corona virus COVID-19 by first isolating the SARS-CoV-2 virus for genome sequencing, then discovering human genes resisting the virus, and now has isolated and purified the antibodies composed of immunoglobulin's fractions of the plasma of recovered patients.
Many researches and trials are still running all around the world, soon we will get some permanent remedy for it. Never be despair, believe on Allah, nothing goes in vain. Till then stay home stay safe.