Experimental treatment in China: Corona infected patients receive plasma from the cured patients

The city of Shanghai treats the deadly virus with the blood of those who have recovered from it. One doctor reported encouraging results. "We are optimistic"

Experimental treatment in China: Corona infected patients receive plasma from the cured patients

Doctors in the Shanghai city of China inject blood coronary plasma fluid from people who have recovered from the fatal varicose vein - a local professor said on Monday. So far, 1,770 people have died from the virus that erupted in Wuhan city and 70,000 people have been infected across China. Shanghai, China's financial center, has reported 332 infections to date, including one victim who died in recent weeks.

Lu Hongzhou, a professor and one of the directors of the city's public health center, said 184 patients are still hospitalized, of which 166 are in mild condition and the remaining 18 are in serious and fatal condition. He said the hospital has established a specialty plasma therapy clinic and is choosing patients willing to donate their blood fluid. He added that the blood will be tested to make sure the donor is not sick with other diseases such as jaundice. "We are optimistic that this method can be very helpful for our patients," he said. Similar remarks have been made by the director of a public hospital in Wuhan.

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Concern over Corona on Hong Kong streets, February 17, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)

So far, no new treatments or vaccines are available for the new virus, and their development and testing process may take several months, or even several years. In addition to the plasma treatments, doctors also give patients licensed antiviral drugs used to treat other diseases to see if they can be effective against the new strain of corona. Initial results from this experiment are due within a few months.