Covid-19: SA begins plasma treatment study

As Covid-19 deaths pass the 10,000 mark in South Africa, researchers, doctors and scientists are searching for new treatments and potential cures. In what Bloomberg says is a first for Africa, South African researchers have now begun a study to find out whether plasma from donors who have had Covid-19 (and developed the necessary antibodies) can be used to assist those who are currently still fighting against the deadly virus. As of August 10, 2020, 3,250,583 tests have been conducted in South Africa, with 559,859 positive cases identified. The good news? There have been 411,474 recoveries recorded. – Jarryd Neves.South Africa starts coronavirus plasma treatment study.By Janice Kew.(Bloomberg) – South African researchers started a study to see whether the plasma from donors who've had the coronavirus and developed antibodies can be used to treat those who are still sick..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Convalescent plasma treatment is part of the U.S. government's efforts to get drugs and preventatives against Covid-19 on the market. It was recently shown to reduce the death rate of hospitalized patients, according to Johns Hopkins University. The South African trial is a first on the continent.."The hope is that antibodies in plasma will shorten and lessen the illness," Karin van den Berg, head of translational research at the South African National Blood Service, said Wednesday..Read also: Can Covid-19 stay in the body after recovery? Here's what we know.The service has started collecting plasma — the liquid part of blood — from donors and is waiting for the health products regulator's approval before it can begin a randomized control trial on 600 patients..Half of these will get plasma and the other half a placebo. Patients in the trial need to be hospitalized but can't be so sick they are on mechanical ventilation. Donors have to be between 18 and 65 years old and symptom free for at least 28 days..Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, left antibodies in an infected person's blood for around 18 months, but current research shows that this effect may start to wane after four months in those that have had Covid-19, said Marion Vermeulen, a biomedical scientist who's also working on the trial.

Covid-19: SA begins plasma treatment study

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