Cocktail of flu, HIV drugs appears to help fight coronavirus: Thai doctors

[webfact]

Cocktail of flu, HIV drugs appears to help fight coronavirus: Thai doctors

By Panu Wongcha-um

 

A man wears a mask to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus as he walks near the Grand Palace at Bangkok, Thailand February 2, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai doctors have seen success in treating severe cases of the new coronavirus with combination of medications for flu and HIV, with initial results showing vast improvement 48 hours after applying the treatment, they said on Sunday.

 

The doctors from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok said a new approach in coronavirus treatment had improved the condition of several patients under their care, including one 70-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan who tested positive for the coronavirus for 10 days.

 

The drug treatment includes a mixture of anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir, in combination with flu drug oseltamivir in large doses.

 

"This is not the cure, but the patient's condition has vastly improved. From testing positive for 10 days under our care, after applying this combination of medicine the test result became negative within 48 hours," Dr. Kriangska Atipornwanich, a lung specialist at Rajavithi, told reporters.

 

"The outlook is good but we still have to do more study to determine that this can be a standard treatment."

 

Chinese health officials have already been administering the HIV and flu drugs to fight the coronavirus. The use of the three together in a cocktail seemed to improve the treatment, the Thai doctors said.

 

Another doctor said that a similar approach in two other patients resulted in one displaying some allergic reaction but the other showed improvement.

 

"We have been following international practices, but the doctor increased the dosage of one of the drugs," said Somsak Akkslim, director-general of the Medical Services Department, referring to the flu medicine Oseltamivir.

 

Thailand has recorded 19 cases of coronavirus. Of the Thai patients, eight have recovered and gone home while 11 are still under treatment in hospitals.

 

Somsak said the health ministry will meet on Monday to discuss the successful treatment in the case of the 70-year-old but said it is still too soon to say that this approach can be applied to all cases.

 

"Initially we will apply this approach only to severe cases," he said.

 

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Peter Graff)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-03

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[AndrewMciver]

That's really not going to reassure everyone - associate treatment for the virus to one of the most scariest/misunderstood illness's there is. 

 

 

[dcnx]

The Chinese announced this a week ago. It’s not news. Thai propaganda, per usual. Cure incoming.

[AlexRich]

Biologists at the Indian Institute of Technology issued a paper claiming that the virus has “HIV insertions” in it’s makeup that are unlikely to be “fortuitous”. In other words, more by design than luck. Suggesting that it is a virus made in the lab. It’s not peer reviewed and may well be consistent with Bat coronavirus ... and what they are hinting at may be wrong. There is a top level Institute of Virology based in Wuhan. They research, amongst other things, bat coronavirus.

 

I was puzzled as to as to why doctors would use HIV drugs?

[RJRS1301]

35 minutes ago, AlexRich said:

Biologists at the Indian Institute of Technology issued a paper claiming that the virus has “HIV insertions” in it’s makeup that are unlikely to be “fortuitous”. In other words, more by design than luck. Suggesting that it is a virus made in the lab. It’s not peer reviewed and may well be consistent with Bat coronavirus ... and what they are hinting at may be wrong. There is a top level Institute of Virology based in Wuhan. They research, amongst other things, bat coronavirus.

 

I was puzzled as to as to why doctors would use HIV drugs?

Grabbing at straws I guees and as they are anti retro virals>> give anything a go.

 

[RJRS1301]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thailand has recorded 19 cases of coronavirus. Of the Thai patients, eight have recovered and gone home while 11 are still under treatment in hospitals.

 

Of the eight who recovered, were they treated with medications, or did their immune system resolve the infection?

If treated with medications, what was used for them?

 

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

From testing positive for 10 days under our care, after applying this combination of medicine the test result became negative within 48 hours," Dr. Kriangska Atipornwanich, a lung specialist at Rajavithi, told reporters.

I find that 48 hours from total infection to negative with HIV medical is fanciful- HIV anti-virals work fast but not 48 hours fast !! And is negative simply undetecable ? as opposed to negative

 

 

 

 

[legend49]

They do this often borrow some other countries trials. Last time a group at Chiang Mai University had developed a cure for cancer, some witches brew of herbs. Needless to say real experts poured that idea down the drain.

[Yadon Toploy]

I'll put this one on the shelf with the all the other Thai cures for ebola, AIDS, SARS and cancer.

[FarFlungFalang]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Another doctor said that a similar approach in two other patients resulted in one displaying some allergic reaction but the other showed improvement.

This treatment is 98% effective in treating the corona virus,which just happens to be the natural survival rate of those who contract the virus!You can spin all you like but it doesn't really mean much.

[rgraham]

Excellent way to increase tourist travel. Everyone will want to fly to LOS via China so they can be a petri dish for Thai researchers.

[FarFlungFalang]

2 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

If treated with medications, what was used for them?

Thailand the hub of Guinea Pigs! 

[tifino]

... it seems ultimately the only survivors, will be the dying?

[sirineou]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

This is not the cure, but the patient's condition has vastly improved

Can farangs find anything positive about Thailand? Nowhere did they say it was a cure , and used the qualifier "seems too" , What is so bad about that? It seems pretty reasonable to me that they would report their experience so far, but make no claims other than what the saw so far.

All this negativity is really annoying. 

[Dukeleto]

I’ll take a bit of positive news regarding this virus than all the negativity. 

[geriatrickid]

Stories like this explain why other countries are reluctant to share technology and  pharmaceutical innovations with Thailand. Thailand has a very bad habit of abusing these advances and of misusing pharmaceutical products, instead creating  superbugs, resistant to the drugs.

 

Here's the truth; As published in Lancet, Abbvie Pharma provided a rush supply of its product Aluvia/Kaletra (a protease inhibitor class drug which combines lopinavir and ritonavir) to Jin Yintan Hospital in Wuhan to support a randomized, controlled trial of the anti-HIV drugs. the trial started January 2, 2020.   The goal is to apply the data from 2004 that showed that the drug had clinical benefit when used to treat patients with SARS infections.   The Chinese clinicians are acting with transparency using a known product manufactured to known purity and  dosing. They are applying existing knowledge and  effecting a true clinical trial.

 

And now we come to the Thais. They are  dosing without knowing which dose to use. They are administering without knowing which drugs actually work.  This is how lethal superbugs are created and this is how a few idiots give Thailand a negative reputation and doom it to being left out of scientific advancement. 

 

Better yet,  someone needs to provide to the   Thais, the following caution that accompanied the Chinese clinical trial,

Because of the pandemic potential of 2019-nCoV, careful surveillance is essential to monitor its future host adaption, viral evolution, infectivity, transmissibility, and pathogenicity.

 

 

 

 

[Cabradelmar]

I still find it hard to believe that there have been no new cases since the number of cases in Thailand reached 19...

[Ventenio]

So now we need to worry about MAD scientists (MAD because they allowed the virus to escape...that's crazy).  

 

I just got a job in a Chinese lab....no face masks, I don't get paid, work 23 hours a day, and work with the most dangerous cocktails on the planet (outside of pattaya).  lol

[Xonax]

_{It comes as no surprise to me, that immune defence strengthening drugs are effective in treating virus diseases. It´s the usal Thai-doctor strategy to prescribe a cocktail of various drugs. I am sure they also prescribed antibiotics, like they usually do for virus infections. A few years ago, they claimed to have found a cure for Ebola virus. - How did that develop?}

[Yinn]

4 hours ago, dcnx said:

The Chinese announced this a week ago. It’s not news. Thai propaganda, per usual. Cure incoming.

Have the Link?

[steven100]

28 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Can farangs find anything positive about Thailand? Nowhere did they say it was a cure , and used the qualifier "seems too" , What is so bad about that? It seems pretty reasonable to me that they would report their experience so far, but make no claims other than what the saw so far.

All this negativity is really annoying. 

don't bother with listening to these usual whinges & moaners, to them it doesn't matter what Thailand does it's all bad. They obviously have been taken for a ride or have a chip on their shoulder. 

[steven100]

6 minutes ago, Xonax said:

_{It comes as no surprise to me, that immune defence strengthening drugs are effective in treating virus diseases. It´s the usal Thai-doctor strategy to prescribe a cocktail of various drugs. I am sure they also prescribed antibiotics, like they usually do for virus infections. A few years ago, they claimed to have found a cure for Ebola virus. - How did that develop?}

please put your glasses on ... 

[Laza 45]

4 hours ago, AlexRich said:

Biologists at the Indian Institute of Technology issued a paper claiming that the virus has “HIV insertions” in it’s makeup that are unlikely to be “fortuitous”. In other words, more by design than luck. Suggesting that it is a virus made in the lab. It’s not peer reviewed and may well be consistent with Bat coronavirus ... and what they are hinting at may be wrong. There is a top level Institute of Virology based in Wuhan. They research, amongst other things, bat coronavirus.

 

I was puzzled as to as to why doctors would use HIV drugs?

HIV is a virus.. interferons have been used to treat it effectively.. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC89003/

[Artisi]

17 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

Stories like this explain why other countries are reluctant to share technology and  pharmaceutical innovations with Thailand. Thailand has a very bad habit of abusing these advances and of misusing pharmaceutical products, instead creating  superbugs, resistant to the drugs.

 

Here's the truth; As published in Lancet, Abbvie Pharma provided a rush supply of its product Aluvia/Kaletra (a protease inhibitor class drug which combines lopinavir and ritonavir) to Jin Yintan Hospital in Wuhan to support a randomized, controlled trial of the anti-HIV drugs. the trial started January 2, 2020.   The goal is to apply the data from 2004 that showed that the drug had clinical benefit when used to treat patients with SARS infections.   The Chinese clinicians are acting with transparency using a known product manufactured to known purity and  dosing. They are applying existing knowledge and  effecting a true clinical trial.

 

And now we come to the Thais. They are  dosing without knowing which dose to use. They are administering without knowing which drugs actually work.  This is how lethal superbugs are created and this is how a few idiots give Thailand a negative reputation and doom it to being left out of scientific advancement. 

 

Better yet,  someone needs to provide to the   Thais, the following caution that accompanied the Chinese clinical trial,

Because of the pandemic potential of 2019-nCoV, careful surveillance is essential to monitor its future host adaption, viral evolution, infectivity, transmissibility, and pathogenicity.

 

 

 

 

Please don't use such big difficult words, "we no unerstan" 

[sammieuk1]

Sounds like the Frankenstein hospital has opened a Bangkok branch with Dr Mengele and Dr Shipman to me ????   

[Borzandy]

Only for a little fever, my son was given a lot of different medicine, Thai doctor thinking one of them could be efficient.

[FarFlungFalang]

18 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Have the Link?

https://www.poz.com/article/china-uses-hiv-meds-treat-new-coronavirus

[saminoz]

1 hour ago, Yadon Toploy said:

I'll put this one on the shelf with the all the other Thai cures for ebola, AIDS, SARS and cancer.

..you forgot the silly little general's cure for the economy and Thai happiness!

[NightSky]

5 hours ago, AndrewMciver said:

That's really not going to reassure everyone - associate treatment for the virus to one of the most scariest/misunderstood illness's there is. 

 

 

You are talking nonesense. It is not 1980. Hiv is very well managed and treatments are highly advanced. Maybe you don’t understand it because you haven’t studied it from reliable sources..

 

..if the same treatments are effective against other virus then why not use them. 

[Oxx]

All this ill-informed negativity towards Thai doctors.

 

What the doctors have tried is absolutely logical.  The virus is an RNA virus (as is the HIV virus), and as such, to replicate the viruses are dependent upon reverse transcriptase (an enzyme which creates DNA from RNA).  Drugs which block reverse transcriptase prevent virus replication.  This works well to stop HIV.  It could be expected to do the same for coronaviruses.