The World Health Organization said that the British announcement that a drug from the steroid family has proven effective in saving the lives of (Covid 19) patients suffering from the most serious symptoms is a “scientific breakthrough.”
“The first proven treatment that reduces deaths among (Covid 19) patients who breathe with oxygen bottles or artificial respirators,” AFP quoted Director-General Tidros Adhanom Gebresos as saying in a statement today.
He added: “This is good news and I congratulate the British government, Oxford University, hospitals and the many patients in the UK who have contributed to this life-saving scientific breakthrough.”
Hopes were raised yesterday for a widely available and inexpensive (Covid 19) treatment with British researchers announcing that the steroid dexamethasone was able to save the lives of a third of those with Covid 19 with the most severe symptoms.
Researchers led by a team from Oxford University tested the drug on more than 2,000 Covid 19 patients with severe symptoms.
“Dexamethasone is the first drug to show an improvement in survival in patients (Covid 19) … this is a very good result,” said Peter Harby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University of Oxford’s Department of Medicine.
British Minister of Health Matt Hancock soon announced that the United Kingdom would immediately begin prescribing dexamethasone stimulant to patients of (Covid 19).
In its statement, the World Health Organization said that “the researchers shared with the WHO the initial information on the results of the experiment” and that the organization “strongly hopes to know the full analysis of the data in the coming days.”
The UN has indicated that it will conduct a “next analysis” of this research to update its guidelines “to reflect how and when the drug should be used” to treat patients of (Covid 19).
The death toll from the Corona virus in Britain is close to 42 thousand, and Britain comes after the United States among the countries most affected by the epidemic, with 291,409 cases.
Source : Sana
