Coronavirus: There is an opportunity in the hands of Hungary that must not be missed

Another million favipiravir tablets were received from China / Japan. This is great news for those who see the coronavirus epidemic every week. There are few better things to hear about the virus, as it is the antiviral drug that is certainly quite effective in blocking the spread of the virus. But only in the first stage of the disease, and that is really the key to everything.

Therefore, there is an important condition for the use of faviparivir. Because the drug inhibits the growth of the virus, the researchers say it can only be used in the first phase of the disease, within 7 to 10 days after symptoms start, with the greatest success.

“With the intensification of the epidemic and the reduction in hospital capacity, the chances of patients receiving this treatment in this early phase of infection are decreasing, as products containing favipiravir are currently used only in hospital.” warned Miklós Keserű, head of research. , participant of the Coronavirus Research Action Group in an interview with mta.hu.

In Hungary, coronavirus patients are basically cured at home, doctors recommend vitamin C and vitamin D, but do not have access to favipiravir. This is because it is only used in a hospital.

Béla Merkely, Rector of Semmelweis, also spoke on this topic on the ATV. He mentioned other antiviral drugs, but emphasized that these therapies can help mainly in the early stages of infections, as they inhibit the spread of the virus within the body. According to Merkely, if the therapies are applied late, even when it is not so much the amount of virus that matters, but the response of the body that dominates the image, there is a kind of cytokine storm, they do not help.

Merkely says we should watch out for symptoms and if our condition worsens, we should go to the hospital. “The most important thing is the moment, I see it more as a problem to give the medicine, but in many cases it is a bit late because the patient arrives later.” Merkely said.

However, the situation is perhaps a bit more nuanced than that. The first half of Merkely’s argument is perfect, but the second half is highly questionable. Are you sure patients are late for help or is there another problem? Maybe the problem is that you have to wait 3-4 days for the test and then another 3-4 days for the result? That is, the result is not obtained as long as favipiravir is effective. Could the problem be that there are perhaps 2,500 patients with suspected coronavirus in hospitals that we don’t even know are infected? Because they don’t have a test result. Could it be a problem that mild symptoms for which favipiravir would be effective are not even admitted to hospitals because they have to treat critically ill patients? There are also hospitals with them.

Instead of a series of questions, come up with a suggestion. After all, there are actually millions of favipiravir tablets available in Hungary, which means we’ve already gotten over the toughest part of the road, thanks to shipments from China and Japan.

Miklós György Keserű argues that the promising positive experience obtained so far in clinical and home care provides an opportunity for those whose symptoms increase the risk of coronavirus infection to have access to the product even in primary care, that is, outside the hospital. “This option can not only be a solution for the patient, but with early intervention, hospitals can also feel relieved,” said Keserű.

If this is not even the case today or tomorrow, it might be worth considering that, with a kind of hybrid solution, patients who are “not yet hospitalized” but “already showing significant symptoms” will receive favipiravir immediately at home.

What is favipiravir?
Favipiravir is a compound from Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd. of Japan. Favipiravir has been used since 2014 (under the brand names Avigan® and Favilavir®, respectively), mainly in Japan, to treat influenza-related infections, especially in cases where the effect of conventional drug therapies is not satisfactory. Medicines containing favipiravir have not been marketed before in Hungary (Health Guide). Favipiravir is a broad spectrum antiviral agent. Formulations containing this have been shown to be effective against the novel coronavirus infection in several studies, with more in progress, including that developed by the Hungarian consortium. The drug has been used in influenza infection in various clinical trials and has been administered to hundreds of thousands of coronavirus patients around the world. There have been few and mild side effects during the treatments, however the drug should not be used during pregnancy (MTA).

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