Egypt begins clinical trials of coronavirus drug

Egyptian municipality workers disinfect the Giza pyramids necropolis on the southwestern outskirts of the Egyptian capital Cairo on March 25, 2020 as protective a measure against the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images]

The Egyptian Presidential Advisor for Health and Prevention Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Awad Taj El-Din, said his country had started clinical trials for Avigan antiviral drug to treat coronavirus patients.

Avigan is an antiviral drug produced by Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corporation in 2014 to treat influenza and new viruses.

Taj El- Din added in a statement that treatment used in Egypt is one of the best, “stressing that no single treatment protocol is used with all infected cases”.

He called on Egyptians to follow the precautionary measures to confront the coronavirus, adding that the number of coronavirus infections in the country is still within the expected range.

There are around 3,333 officially reported cases in Egypt and 250 deaths though given the crackdown on reporting on the virus, it’s thought that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

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