Dr Tahir Shamsi with President Dr Arif Alvi. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI: Pakistan’s prime hematologist and transplant surgeon says that the blood of recovered sufferers of COVID-19 – the mysterious respiratory sickness brought on by the novel coronavirus – might be used to sluggish the unfold of the lethal contagion which has killed practically 10,000 folks and sickened tens of 1000’s others worldwide.
“The body of a COVID-19 patient creates antibodies to fight off the virus. These antibodies in the blood of a recovered patient could be used to boost the immunity of the newly infected people,” Dr Tahir Shamsi, the top of Nationwide Institute of Blood Ailments, instructed The Categorical Tribune in an interview.
In medical lexicon, this system known as “passive immunisation” which was launched in 1890, he added. This system is used when there’s a excessive threat of an infection and inadequate time for the physique to develop its personal immune response, or to scale back the signs of ongoing or immunosuppressive illnesses.
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“We can save precious lives using this technique,” Dr Shamsi stated whereas including that the Nationwide Institute of Blood Ailments is absolutely outfitted to efficiently use this system. “Doctors have saved hundreds of lives with the help of this technique in China since February,” he added.
Convalescent plasma taken from a recovered affected person is believed to be wealthy within the antibodies wanted to combat off the lethal an infection.
The novel coronavirus, medically named SARS-CoV-2, has contaminated greater than 200,000 folks throughout the globe since its outbreak within the central China metropolis of Wuhan in the direction of the tip of December 2019. The Chinese language authorities has efficiently subdued the outbreak within the epicenter via unprecedented measures, however the contagion is spreading like wildfire elsewhere on the earth.
Medical practitioners in the US are additionally satisfied in regards to the efficacy of this system. A plan has been offered to the Donald Trump administration for extracting convalescent plasma from the recovered sufferers of COVID-19 within the US states of Baltimore and New York over the subsequent couple of weeks, Dr Shamsi added.
American medical researchers Arturo Casadevall and Liise-anne Pirofski, from the Albert Einstein School of Medication, New York, state in a latest analysis paper that “human convalescent serum is an option for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 disease”, which might be obtainable in a brief timescale so long as sufficient recovered sufferers may donate their blood.
On behalf of the Nationwide Institute of Blood Ailments, Dr Shamsi stated they’re prepared to assist the federal and provincial governments to combat off the viral outbreak which was declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Well being Organisation (WHO) earlier this month.
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“A vaccine works by training the immune system to recognise and combat pathogens – either viruses or bacteria – by creating antibodies in the blood. And when the pathogens enters the body, the antibodies already present in the blood successfully fight it off,” stated Dr Shamsi.
At present, there are not any vaccines or confirmed therapies obtainable for COVID-19 illness which has the potential to have an effect on billions of individuals. Nevertheless, US President Donald Trump introduced on Thursday that chloroquine, an outdated malaria drug, has proven “very very encouraging results” in treating the mysterious illness.
An official at China’s science and know-how ministry, Zhang Xinmin, has stated {that a} drug in Japan, referred to as favipiravir, can also be efficient towards the COVID-19 illness because it has produced passable outcomes in 340 medical trials within the cities of Wuhan and Shenzhen.
About “passive immunisation”, Dr Shamsi stated the approach was used for the therapy of viral illnesses like influenza, polio and measles earlier than the introduction of vaccines.
“The National Institute of Blood Diseases formally wrote to the federal and provincial governments on Thursday to apprise them of this possible therapy for COVID-19,” he added. “We will also arrange awareness lectures through video-link for medical professionals in other provinces on this technique.”
