China to expand plasma treatments for coronavirus patients
- Treatment has previously been used on victims of swine and bird flu and ‘looks promising’, says respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan
- Patients who have recovered from Covid-19 found to have virus-neutralising antibodies in their blood, but supplies are limited for now
Plasma treatments for Chinese Covid-19 patients will be expanded to another province, one of the country’s leading respiratory disease specialists said on Tuesday.
Zhong Nanshan told a press conference on Tuesday that the treatment would be given to severely ill patients in Guangdong province – but not critically ill ones because of the risk of complications.
The treatment has already been given to a small number of patients in Hubei, the province at the centre of the outbreak, with positive results.
“The [plasma] treatment looks promising … It’s old, effective and safe, though supplies might be limited,” Zhong, a renowned respiratory expert who helped expose the scale of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak, said.
Plasma therapy was previously used on one H5N1 avian flu patient in Shenzhen 15 years ago and some H1N1 swine flu patients in Hong Kong, which helped lower fatality rates.