It may not be exactly what you had in mind…
In my last post reporting on the coronavirus outbreak, I explained the basics. Checking back in, let’s see how things have progressed.
The Nature Journal discusses the newest developments with this outbreak as of February 5th. As the number of reported cases in China have now exceeded 20,000 the World Health Organization declares global emergency, their highest level of alarm. China is preparing to send samples of the virus to isolated labs across the world to hopefully develop a vaccine or antiviral medication. Without gaining an understanding of this virus, epidemiologist worry that this virus will not be contained and may become endemic to the population and circulate every year, just like the flu.
So far, they have learned that in some cases, this virus can present as asymptomatic. This causes great concern because it makes the virus even harder to contain. Virologists have also learned that the pathogenesis of the current circulating strain is very similar to the strain that causes SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome. The current strain exploits the same molecular receptors to enter the cell. These researches are racing against time to find a vaccine and medication to slow down this pandemic.
CNN reports on experimental antiviral drugs that could possible be used to treat the coronavirus. Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, has attempted to use a preexisting Ebola antiviral to combat the symptoms of coronavirus. This drug is called Remdesivir. Although it has not been licensed or approved for treatment by any global health organization, they are still hopeful as it has been successful in treating some cases of SARS, which is very similar to coronavirus. While many large pharmaceutical companies are racing to solve this looming problem, Gilead warns that unfortunately it may be another year before they find a suitable vaccine.
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