I wish to congratulate Department of Health officials for their determination in tackling atypical pneumonia, which is caused by a new virus.
My congratulations also go to the team of Chinese University doctors and microbiologists for their efforts to find this virus and, above all, to the Hong Kong University virologists, who have been able to identify this new coronavirus, and produce a quick test, enabling doctors to confirm whether patients affected by pneumonia are indeed infected by this new coronavirus. This will be of extreme value to allow an early treatment.
I understand that in most cases, a rapid treatment with an antiviral (ribavirin) and an anti-inflammatory drug (corticoid) can help patients recover.
However, in the case of patients with a lowered natural immunity, would it not be possible to give to them an additional immunotherapy treatment with biologic agents such as lymphokines, interleukin-2 or interferon?
Would it not be also possible for patients in a critical condition to be treated with blood serum containing specific antibodies to this new coronavirus? This blood serum could be obtained from former patients who have completely recovered. This might or might not work, but it would be worthwhile to consider this as a possible lifesaver of last recourse.
This system worked, at least, for the much more dangerous Ebola virus, for which there is no medicine nor a vaccine. A doctor infected with Ebola was cured after being treated with blood serum containing Ebola antibodies. The serum was taken from one of the few fully recovered previous patients.
