InfoQuest, (February 24, 2020) -- According to M.D. Pramote Sathirat, Deputy Director General of Department of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, the department is researching Thai Andrographis paniculata to treat COVID-19, and on the next Tuesday (February 25), it will sign cooperative agreements with related departments including Department of Medical Sciences and Government Pharmaceutical Organization. It is expected to draw the conclusion in about one month.
M.D. Pramote said, "The department will use appropriate dose of Andrographis paniculata, then they will draw serum from people who have been given the drug and put it into the virus, thus to see whether the drug can kill the virus and inhibit its growth. Time is needed to do the experiment."
Besides, he said, "In the past, it was reported that Andrographis paniculata can boost immunity, diminish inflammation and beat virus, especially respiratory virus. Preclinical studies were conducted during the SARS outbreak, which proved that Andrographis paniculata can kill SARS virus. However, the genome sequence of COVID-19 virus is different from that of SARS, so it is necessary to find out if Andrographis paniculata inhibits COVID-19 virus.
M.D. Opasak Kawinphong, Director General of the Department of Medical Sciences, added that the Department of Medical Sciences had sequenced the genome of COVID-19 virus from the first and second infected persons in Thailand, and they used Real time RT –PCR to develop COVID-19 virus detection kits and vaccines. Besides, the department has shared virus strains with the World Health Organization for future research that will benefit people around the world.
In addition, the construction of laboratory networks in 14 provinces of Thailand has been accelerated to deal with the emergency of COVID-19. From 13 medical centers, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Ramathibodi Hospital, Chulalongkorn University, Rajavithi Hospital, Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute and Bumrungrad International Hospital, it will be extended to at least one center/general hospital in each province. From January 5 to February 20, the Department of Medical Sciences has tested 1,489 samples of COVID-19 virus.
At the same time, Thai scientists from various departments jointly conducted laboratory experiments and found that Andrographis paniculata extract could inhibit the virus growth in the test tube. The experiments will be subsequently applied to the treatment of COVID-19 virus. If the results are satisfactory, it will be applied to actual therapy.
M.D. Thanarak Springphat, Deputy Director General of the Department of Disease Control, released the latest situation of COVID-19 virus in Thailand. At present, two more patients, a 56-year-old Chinese man and a 34-year-old Chinese man, have been discharged from the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute. A total of 35 cases are confirmed, 16 of which are still in the hospital and other 19 have been cured and discharged from hospital.
Patients using ECMO/artificial heart-lung machine are in stable condition, and laboratory tests have found no virus. The virus can still be detected in the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, but they are in stable condition. The two patients mentioned continue to use additional breathing devices and need further monitoring.
Foreign reports said super spreaders who had infected more than 100 people had been found. These super spreaders have higher virus levels, so they can quickly infect others, causing the situation to be beyond control. But now there are no such super spreaders in Thailand, because Thailand possesses a strong disease surveillance system that can quickly find out people requiring medical observation and isolate them to avoid infecting others.
Besides, disease control department staff are empowered by the Communicable Disease Act B.E.2015 to force suspected infected people to receive treatment. So please rest assured and cooperate with the government to ensure the security in Thailand. In terms of the investigation on three Thai passengers and Thai crew on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, none of them was found to have been infected, and they have safely left the cruise.
From January 3 to February 20, 2020, 1,151 suspected cases were found out to receive medical observation. 58 were found by airport screening, and 1,093 were found when they went to hospital. 941 have been discharged, most of them actually having seasonal influenza, with 210 still under observation.
According to M.D. Thanarak, the reason why suspected cases that must receive medical observation greatly increases is that the screening has been expanded to provinces with lots of tourists, including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Phuket, Phrachuap Khiri Khan, Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Chonburi. And the screening of people from countries affected by the outbreak is still being strictly implemented. Now, a major screening plan has been announced for South Korea, which has the third highest number of infected cases in the world.
Source: InfoQuest, by Rachada Kongkhunthian/Sasithorn, translated by Xinhua Silk Road.
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