₦airaland Forum

A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt.

The outbreak first emerged in China late last year before spreading across the world, prompting an international race to find treatments and vaccines.

A drug being tested by scientists at China's prestigious Peking University could not only shorten the recovery time for those infected, but even offer short-term immunity from the virus, researchers say.

Sunney Xie, director of the university's Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics, told AFP that the drug has been successful at the animal testing stage.

"When we injected neutralising antibodies into infected mice, after five days the viral load was reduced by a factor of 2,500," said Xie.

"That means this potential drug has (a) therapeutic effect."

The drug uses neutralising antibodies—produced by the human immune system to prevent the virus infecting cells—which Xie's team isolated from the blood of 60 recovered patients.

A study on the team's research, published Sunday in the scientific journal Cell, suggests that using the antibodies provides a potential "cure" for the disease and shortens recovery time.
Sunney Xie, director of the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics, told AFP that the drug has been successful at the a
Sunney Xie, director of the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics, told AFP that the drug has been successful at the animal testing stage

Xie said his team had been working "day and night" searching for the antibody.

"Our expertise is single-cell genomics rather than immunology or virology. When we realised that the single-cell genomic approach can effectively find the neutralising antibody we were thrilled."

He said he hopes that the drug will be ready for use later this year and in time for any potential winter outbreak of the virus, which has infected 4.8 million people around the world and killed more than 315,000.

"Planning for the clinical trial is underway," said Xie, adding it will be carried out in Australia and other countries since cases have dwindled in China, offering fewer human guinea pigs for testing.

"The hope is these neutralising antibodies can become a specialised drug that would stop the pandemic," he said.

China already has five potential coronavirus vaccines at the human trial stage, a health official said last week.

But the World Health Organization has warned that developing a vaccine could take 12 to 18 months.
Sunney Xie said his team had been working "day and night" on the new drug
Sunney Xie said his team had been working "day and night" on the new drug

Scientists have also pointed to the potential benefits of plasma—a blood fluid—from recovered individuals who have developed antibodies to the virus enabling the body's defences to attack it.

More than 700 patients have received plasma therapy in China, a process which authorities said showed "very good therapeutic effects".

"However, it (plasma) is limited in supply," Xie said, noting that the 14 neutralising antibodies used in their drug could be put into mass production quickly.

Prevention and cure

Using antibodies in drug treatments is not a new approach, and it has been successful in treating several other viruses such as HIV, Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Xie said his researchers had "an early start" since the outbreak started in China before spreading to other countries.

Ebola drug Remdesivir was considered a hopeful early treatment for COVID-19—clinical trials in the US showed it shortened the recovery time in some patients by a third—but the difference in mortality rate was not significant.
More than 100 vaccines for COVID-19 are in the works globally
More than 100 vaccines for COVID-19 are in the works globally

The new drug could even offer short-term protection against the virus.

The study showed that if the neutralising antibody was injected before the mice were infected with the virus, the mice stayed free of infection and no virus was detected.

This may offer temporary protection for medical workers for a few weeks, which Xie said they are hoping to "extend to a few months".

More than 100 vaccines for COVID-19 are in the works globally, but as the process of vaccine development is more demanding, Xie is hoping that the new drug could be a faster and more efficient way to stop the global march of the coronavirus.

"We would be able to stop the pandemic with an effective drug, even without a vaccine," he said.https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-scientists-china-drug-pandemic-vaccine.html

Good development.
GMB is fair by picking 3 APC and 3 PDP states as the locations.

Daddy Afe is feeling the heat. The life of ur students first Sir

The ABUAD founder, who, in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Monday, said schools nationwide were “hurriedly” closed down by government fiat on March 23 when some pupils and students were either writing examinations or embarking on final-year examinations, offered advice on how the Federal Government could reopen the schools and universities within four weeks in phases.

Babalola listed the conditions under which “private institutions should be allowed to resume academic activities within four weeks”.

These, he said, included that “the school must establish that it has residential accommodation for all students including most, if not all the staff.

“Parents shall give written undertakings supported with medical certificates that the student is fit/healthy to resume academic work.

“There shall be about three running water tanks at the gate where students will wash their hands with soap. There shall be portable sanitisers. Each student must be armed with the portable sanitiser. There shall be infrared thermometers at the gate where students, staff and anybody coming into the university shall be tested by a nurse or medical personnel.

“The university must have in place the following testing machines: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR Machine) and Serological Test Machine.

“Each school must have in place a building specially designed to accommodate any student who is suspected to have any type of infectious disease ranging from cough, chickenpox, measles, diarrhea etc other than COVID-19.”

He added that each university must have two functional fumigation machines and “ensure all hostels, classrooms, cafeteria, conference halls, and sports facilities shall be fumigated before resumption”.

Babalola also advised that the schools must have testing kits as “the students must undergo test fortnightly in addition to the provision for face masks which shall be used by students and staff in classrooms, conference halls and everywhere on the campus”.

He also advised staggered resumption, saying, the final-year students forced to go home while preparing for their final examination should resume first, take their examination and vacate the university within two to three weeks. Thereafter, the next level of students that will resume shall be new students who will undergo the same set of tests like those of final year students”.

According to the ABUAD founder, the prescriptions for private universities shall also apply to public universities with some variations.
https://punchng.com/how-fg-can-reopen-schools-varsities-within-four-weeks-afe-babalola/

Increase from 5k to 15k, it doesn't worth it Sir.

Nigeria is currently sitting on a powder keg and it's imminently ready to explode.
The UK �� with the population of about 66.7 million has relatively adequate health professionals and sophisticated health facilities but still not be able to annihilate this dreaded COVID-19 with records of about thirty(30) thousand deaths.
Nigeria's population is about 200 million with nothing to write home about and run-of-the-mill medical facilities coupled with demoralized health workers.
What is our fate?
May God avert this looming disaster.

Hi

The UK �� with the population of about 66.7 million with relatively adequate health professionals and sophisticated health facilities is struggling with the COVID-19 treatment with current record of about thirty(30)thousand deaths
Nigeria's population is about 200 million with nothing to write home about and run-of-the-mill medical facilities coupled with demoralized health workers.
What is our fate?

Hi

Good o

Yes o

COVID-19

Ok

OK

Hmmm

Hmmmm

egorov:
We will soon start seeing decrease in the confirmed cases. But my fear is the lockdown that's about to be relaxed.

Which country has announced the reduction in the COVID-19 cases? This disesse keeps increasing everywhere, even in countries with adequate and sophisticated health facilities.

Hi

Hello Nigerians.
The rich and the political class will soon hide somewhere once the spreading of COVID-19 has abated among them.
The downtrodden and the health workers will be at the receiving end eventually.
These politicians want to resume normal work in order to amass wealth bc their positions are tenured.

Nobody should deceive us again, these Chinese Doctors were imported to Nigeria to treat our rich leaders, their efforts could not rescue our COS.

OK

Hmmm

Hmmm

If you believe this response from the government, it means you can believe anything

The battle line is

bangalee1:
KTU is Ketu

KTU is not KETU.
KETU is under Kosofe LG and KOSOFE is the headquarters with the acronym KSF used for the number plate.
The headquarters of ALIMOSHO LG is Ikotun, hence the acronym KTU for the number plate.

Public Service Rules can guide us.

It depends on the ministry or parastatal

Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning says arrears of consequential adjustment for the new minimum wage will be paid to workers in December.

Ahmed gave the assurance while answering questions from stakeholders during the highlights and breakdown of the approved 2020 budget in Abuja on Thursday.

She said the Federal Government had made adequate provision to pay the arrears of the consequential adjustments of the approved new minimum wage for federal civil servants.

“I want to confirm to you that we have made adequate provision in the 2020 budget on the issue of minimum wage.

“And we are also planning to pay the arrears of the consequential adjustments in December, ” she added.

Giving a breakdown of the 2020 budget, the minister said that the sum of N4.49 trillion would be expended on recurrent expenditure.

According to her, the sum of N2.465 trillion has been earmarked for capital expenditure, while N2.453 trillion is projected for debt servicing..

She said N2.64 trillion was expected to be generated from oil revenue, while N1.81 trillion was expected to be generated from non-oil revenue .

The minister put the projected revenue from other revenue sources at N3.97 trillion, adding that a total of N8.42 trillion revenue was expected to be generated in the N10.594 trillion budget.

Ahmed added that N2.175 trillion would be used to finance deficit, N560 billion for statutory transfer, N273 billion for debt sinking fund, while N350 billion would be expended on special interventions. (NANhttps://www.sunnewsonline.com/fg-to-pay-workers-consequential-adjustments-arrears-in-december-minister/

Propaganda!!!

WisdomFlakes:
If APC had lost either of the last two recently held elections, Oshiomhole's position would have been seriously threatened (as is the case with his PDP counterpart, Uche Secondus after last weekend's election). But under the present circumstance, it will be tough getting him to resign because he and the party are in a position of strength at the moment. The arguments against him sound hollow in light of that.

It is the truth