What is the cure for coronavirus?

What is the cure for coronavirus?

Covid-19 created chaos in the world, but there are still no drugs proven to help doctors treat the disease. However, in different scenario different drugs are being used.

There are different approaches are being investigated as ‘antiviral drugs to attack on coronavirus, or drugs that can calm the immune system and antibodies from survivor’s blood or made in lab that can attack the virus.

In some cases, even stem cell therapy is also being used against COVD 19 Virus.

Most people who fall sick with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment. 


The virus more prominently impacts on elderly and woman and people with lowimmunity.

Do You Know?

Most people — about 80% — who develop COVID-19 symptoms do not require hospital treatment.

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As per the available data, more than 150 different drugs are being researched around the world. Most are existing drugs that are being trialled against the virus.

• §  The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the Solidarity trial aimed at assessing the most promising treatments
• §  The UK says its Recovery trial is the the world's biggest, with more than 5,000 patients already taking part.
• §  And multiple research centres around the world are attempting to use survivors' blood as a treatment
• §  Complementing the slew of vaccines in development are the upcoming stem cell therapies, aimed at boosting patients' immune systems and eliminating pathogens. The COVID-19Stem Cell Therapies Pipeline report provides comprehensive data analysis of 22 organizations developing stem cell therapies for COVID-19 globally from the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific region (APAC).

What is the most promising coronavirus drug?

The latest clinical trials of remdesivir, an anti-viral drug originally developed to treat Ebola, have been encouraging.

Remdesivir is an experimental antiviral produced initially as a potential treatment for the Ebola virus by the US pharmaceutical company Gilead. However, in 2019 Congolese health officials said the drug was less effective than other treatments.

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It has showed promising results in preventing Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), which are also caused by coronaviruses. But those studies have only been done in animals.

Remdesivir also showed promise in rhesus macaque monkeys infected with the new coronavirus, according to a small, seven-day study of six monkeys, published in a peer-reviewed journal.

In Fact Japan approved it as a treatment drug against COVID 19.

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) also found that remdesivir cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days down to 11. The trials involved 1,063 people at hospitals around the world. Some were given the drug and others were given a placebo (dummy) treatment.

How does Remdesivir work?

In Mers-CoV studies, US researchers found remdesivir blocks a particular enzyme that is required for viral replication.

The drug was administered during the trial via daily infusion for about 10 days and appeared to reduce fever and alleviate respiratory symptoms associated with coronavirus, allowing many patients who receive it to be discharged from the hospital in less than a week.

However, it has not been yet been approved by health authorities around the world except Japan, and the supply is low.

 But it is being used in clinical trials, and many countries are attempting to get access to the drug for use in their own Covid-19 studies.

However, although remdesivir may aid recovery - and possibly stop people having to be treated in intensive care - the trials did not give any clear indication whether it can prevent deaths from coronavirus.

It is thought that anti-virals may be more effective in the early stages, and immune drugs later in the disease.

It is one of the four drugs in the WHO Solidarity trial and its manufacturer, Gilead, is also organising trials.

The US data on remdesivir was published at the same time as a trial of the same drug in China, reported in the Lancet medical journal, showed it was ineffective.

However, that trial was incomplete because the success of lockdown in Wuhan meant doctors ran out of patients.

Can HIV drugs treat coronavirus?

There has been much talk, but little evidence, that a pair of HIV drugs - lopinavir and ritonavir - would be effective at treating coronavirus.

HIV is treated with antiretroviral medications, which work by stopping the virus replicating in the body.

The drug allows the immune system to repair itself and prevent further damage. A combination of HIV drugs is used because HIV can quickly adapt and become resistant.

There has been some evidence they can work in the laboratory, but studies in people have been disappointing.

The combination did not improve recovery, reduce deaths or lower levels of the virus in patients with serious Covid-19.

However, as the trial was conducted with extremely sick patients (nearly a quarter died) it may have been too late in the infection for the drugs to work.

Can malaria drugs stop coronavirus?

Malaria drugs are part of both the Solidarity and Recovery trials.

Chloroquine, and a related derivative, hydroxychloroquine, may have antiviral and immune-calming properties.

The drugs have been thrust into the spotlight as potential coronavirus therapies, largely due to claims made by President Trump, but there is still scant evidence on their effectiveness.

Hydroxychloroquine is also used as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, because it can help regulate the immune system.

Laboratory tests have shown it can inhibit the coronavirus, and there is some anecdotal evidence from doctors saying it appears to help patients.

However, the WHO says there is no definitive evidence of its effectsiveness.

What about immune drugs against the Corona Virus?

If the immune system overreacts to the virus then it can cause inflammation throughout the body. This is helpful for rallying the immune system to fight the infection, but too much can cause collateral damage throughout body and can be fatal.

The Solidarity trial is investigating interferon beta, which is used to treat multiple sclerosis, and lowers inflammation. Interferons are a group of chemicals released by the body when under attack by a virus.

The UK's Recovery Trial is investigating dexamethasone - a type of steroid used to reduce inflammation.

Can survivors' blood treat Coronavirus?

People who survive an infection should have antibodies d that can attack the virus.

The idea is you take the blood plasma (the part which contains the antibodies) and give that to a sick patient as a therapy.

The US has already treated 500 patients with what is known as "convalescent plasma", and other countries are getting involved too.

How long until we have a cure?

It is too soon to know when we might have a drug that can treat the coronavirus.

However, we should start to get the results of trials in the next few months. 

This is much earlier than we will know if a vaccine (which protects against infection rather than treat it) is effective.

This is because doctors are testing drugs that have already been developed and are known to be safe enough to use, whereas vaccines researchers are starting from scratch.

Some completely new, experimental, coronavirus drugs are also being tested in the laboratory but are not yet ready for human tests.

Why do we need a treatment?

The most obvious reason for wanting a treatment is it will save lives, but it could also allow some lockdown measures to be lifted.

Having an effective treatment would, in essence, make coronavirus a milder disease.

If it stopped people who were admitted to hospital from needing ventilation, then there would be less risk of intensive care units being overwhelmed, so controls on people's lives may not need to be as strict.

So how are doctors treating patients now?

If you are infected by coronavirus, then for most people it would be mild and can be treated at home with bed-rest, paracetamol and plenty of fluids.

But some people need more intensive hospital treatment, which involves oxygen support such as ventilation.

Currently, there are no approved drugs or vaccines available for treating or preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, researchers and public health agencies around the world are working to find treatments and other medications.

People can prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by practicing protective measures, such as physical distancing in public spaces and self-quarantine when sick. Limiting or avoiding contact with people who have a suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection can also help reduce the risk of getting sick.

Those who show mild to moderate symptoms may be able to use self-care at home. Severe symptoms may require intensive medical intervention and hospitalization.