Mankind has always feared pestilence, be it in the form of any deadly disease. After all, humanity’s history states that infections have nearly destroyed more than fifty per cent of the globe’s population. It is believed that any significant event has its conspiracy theories, and the Novel Coronavirus, popularly known as COVID-19 is no exception. Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus in the Wuhan district of China that claimed many lives, there has been havoc among the masses.
It is spreading like a wildfire across the globe such as in Italy, Iran, and other nations. The strange pattern of pandemic outbreaks was observed after 100 years in each sequence. For instance in the 1720s, The Great Plague, in the 1820s the Cholera Outbreak then in the 1920s The Spanish Flu and 2020s Novel Coronavirus. Looking at the crux of the matter, the World Health Organization announced this outbreak as a ‘Pandemic’.
Urbanization: Leading To Rapid Spread
Rapid urbanization has taken the world by storm in the past few years. In this global village, it is bringing more and more people together. Right from small hunting and gathering tribes to the metropolis, humanity’s reliance on one another has also sparked opportunities for the COVID-19 to spread.
Moreover, inter-country and intra-country travel has put people more at risk. Especially, air-traffic, which has nearly doubled in the past decade, and other major trends are pin-pointing a significant impact on the spread of infectious disease.
Isolation, Quarantine, and Social Distancing: Measures For Prevention Of COVID-19
Along with the maintenance of good personal hygiene, other health strategies are also used to break the chain. The three primary forms are Isolation, Quarantine, and Social Distancing to eradicate the influence of COVID-19 in oneself. It is expected that if one practice quarantine diligently, they can be able to fight the virus along with not spreading it to others too.
Though health experts are trying to help the people out, these three self-precautionary measures can mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Indeed, a recent lockdown ruled by the government is helping people to stay indoors safely. The government of Italy, China, and India have completely sealed their borders and have declared lockdown across states of the country.
Vaccination: Paving Their Way to Bring out Measures
Researchers, scientists, and laboratory workers around the world are trying to develop a precaution measure to fight Coronavirus. Interestingly, the government is also keen to take massive steps ahead and funding is also provided for the same.
One such flu drug that has garnered the attention is Favipiravir. Also, known as T-705, Avigan, or Favipiravir, it is an antiviral drug being developed by Toyama Chemical of Japan with activity against many RNA viruses. Like certain other experimental antiviral drugs, it is a pyrazine carboxamide derivative. It is a promising treatment effective on a wide range of RNA viruses. The composition/agents in Favipiravir is believed to inhibit the RdRP of RNA viruses to prevent virus replication or duplication.
Favipiravir, a flu drug is developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, a Japanese conglomerate. Out of many vaccines tried, Favipiravir was given to 340 patients in clinical trials. It was able to showcase a high degree of safety. It is also deemed to be an effective possible treatment for eradicating COVID-19. Patients who were given the medicine were able to recover in four days. Adding to it, X-rays confirmed improvements in lung condition in about 91% of the patients who were treated with Favipiravir.
Advantages of Favipiravir, A Flu Drug
Favipiravir, a flu drug that specifically treats RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2. These are viruses whose main genetic material is RNA, rather than DNA. It largely tries to stop some viruses from replicating by crippling the enzyme called RNA polymerase which builds RNA. With no intact to the enzyme intact, the virus cannot rebuild its genetic material. Once it is inside the host cell.
The drug has shown the slowdown of the COVID-19 and is also protecting health care workers and others at high risk of infection. Though proven end-results have not been declared yet, in the meantime, Favipiravir is considered to be a flu drug that is being evaluated for covid treatment.