WHO hails coronavirus steroid as 'lifesaving scientific breakthrough'

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World Health Organization, hails, lifesaving scientific breakthrough, British use, steroid, treat, Covid-19, coronavirus, patients, severely ill, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, dexamethasone

Geneva, Switzerland - A study showed dexamethasone reduced deaths of critically ill Covid-19 patients by 35%.

By AFP

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Published: Wed 17 Jun 2020, 5:45 AM

Last updated: Wed 17 Jun 2020, 11:06 AM

The World Health Organization on Tuesday hailed as a 'lifesaving scientific breakthrough' the British use of a basic steroid to treat severely ill Covid-19 patients, saving about a third of them.
Researchers led by a team from the University of Oxford administered the widely available steroid dexamethasone to more than 2,000 severely ill Covid-19 patients.
Among those who could only breathe with the help of a ventilator, dexamethasone reduced deaths by 35 per cent.
"This is great news and I congratulate the Government of the UK, the University of Oxford, and the many hospitals and patients in the UK who have contributed to this lifesaving scientific breakthrough," WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Up to now there has been no effective treatment or vaccine for the coronavirus which has claimed nearly 440,000 lives since it first appeared in China in December.


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