ALBUFEIRA

[Numa tentativa de travar a infeção provocada pelo novo coronavírus (Covid-19) – “utilizando o sangue (plasma) de pessoas anteriormente infetadas e tendo, entretanto, recuperado” − tendo até ao momento colocado de quarentena mais de 60 milhões (sobretudo em Wuhan/Hubei), afetado mais de 60 mil (atingindo já os 68.000) e vitimado mortalmente mais de 1,5 milhares de pessoas (a caminho dos 1.700 esmagadoramente chineses continentais da província de Hubei, onde situa o epicentro do contágio a cidade de Wuhan).]

Blood from cured coronavirus patients

could help treat infection

This scanning electron microscope image

shows the new coronavirus (yellow)

among human cells (blue, pink and purple)

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On Thursday (Feb. 13), a Chinese senior health official called on people who had recovered from the new coronavirus to donate blood plasma, because it might contain valuable proteins that could be used to treat sick patients, according to The New York Times.

The call for plasma came after an announcement by the state-owned company, China National Biotec Group, that these antibodies helped treat 10 critically ill patients, reducing their inflammation within 12 to 24 hours, according to the Times.

But is this a good idea? The approach is a logical and promising way to treat critically ill coronavirus patients, experts told Live Science. But because coronavirus has a low mortality rate, bypassing the normal drug testing process doesn't necessarily make sense, and doctors should be on high alert for possible side effects, they said …

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"I think these theoretic[al] treatments are good ideas, but nothing about this virus or these infections makes me want to skip the normal process we use to make sure that a treatment is safe and effective before subjecting people to it,"  Dr. Eric Cioe-Peña, the director of global health at Northwell Health in New York who was not involved with the study, told Live Science in an email. "I think we should allow the scientific process to continue and attempt to study these proposed treatments before enacting them, especially in a virus that has such a low mortality."

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Plasma infusions are just one of many treatment options experts are considering to treat COVID-19, which has now sickened nearly 65,000 people and led to 1,384 deaths. Others include repurposing antivirals or looking for brand-new molecules that can block the binding of the virus into cells.

[Segundo o site CGTN (cgtn.com) – “China Global Television Network” canal de TV internacional estatal chinês − desde o fim do mês de dezembro de 2019 (dia 31) com o surto do novo coronavírus COVID-19 (2/14 dias de incubação, média 3) a ter provocado até 15 de fevereiro (18:35) 64.472 infetados (63.866 na China), 1.384 vítimas mortais (1.381 na China ou seja 99,8%) e 7.182 recuperações. Com a Organização Mundial de Saúde a apontar para uma taxa de mortalidade de 2% e com a taxa de recuperação a ficar pelos 11%.]

(excerto/legenda/inglês e imagem:

Blood from cured coronavirus patients could help treat infection

/Yasemin Saplakoglu/14.02.2020/livescience.com e NIAID-RML)