To combat Corona ... a treatment test for lice in Australia and the storage of the drug Afghan in Japan

Parallel to the globally frenzied race to produce the first vaccine against the emerging coronavirus, researchers in several countries are continuing to test possible treatments that may save patients, and recently two drugs have been used to treat other diseases.

In Australia, a study by the Monash University in Melbourne showed results described as promising Ivermectin to fight the virus in vitro.

Ivermectin is an anti-parasite drug that is available worldwide and is used to treat lice, scabies and other conditions.

The Australian researchers said that a single dose of this drug is able to stop the growth of intracellular corona virus within cells within less than 48 hours, according to the study published last Friday in the journal Antiviral Research.

"Ivermectin is used very widely and is considered a safe drug. We have to determine now if the (safe) dose allowed for use in humans will be effective (in eliminating the virus), and this is the next step," said Dr. Kylie Wagstaff, who led the study, in a statement.

Severe warning
The Australian health authorities have warned citizens not to medicate this drug themselves, and have confirmed that it may be fatal.

Jenny Mickakus, Victoria's health minister, whose capital is Melbourne, urged citizens to avoid using the drug themselves, while praising the work of Australian researchers.

"There is no reason for anyone to buy a treatment for lice unless they will use it on the hair of their children," Mikakos told a news conference.

"I would like to stress that because we heard about people abroad who heard about possible developments and then took drugs that were used in the wrong way completely and died because of that."

Afghan drug
Meanwhile, Reuters news agency said it had seen a document saying that Japan was considering increasing its stockpile of Avigan flu, which is produced by the Japanese company "Fujifilm" during the current fiscal year, so that it can be used to treat two million people.

Japanese media said today, Sunday, that Japan hopes to increase its production of this drug to three times its current production, which is sufficient to treat seven hundred thousand people if it is used by people living with the virus.

The Afghan drug is being tested as a treatment for Covid-19 disease, caused by the emerging coronavirus, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, in December.

The Avigan drug - also known as faviravir - is produced by a medical company affiliated with the Japanese "Fujifilm" group, which is famous for producing cameras. The drug was approved for use in Japan in 2014.

Clinical trials
The Japanese government intends to give priority to the clinical trial process of this drug so that it can be formally approved for use in the treatment of corona patients, in an emergency government incentive package expected to come into effect next Tuesday.

According to the document seen by Reuters, Tokyo also plans to increase support for local companies that supply protective masks and disinfectants and will ensure that it has sufficient capacity to supply 700 million masks per month.

As part of efforts to reduce dependence on China as a manufacturing center, Japan's Nikkei newspaper said Sunday that Japan will support companies that will return some of its production capacity to Japan.