MADRID – If the coronavirus is already destroyed in the nose, the chances of its transmission become so small that fewer people will become infected. And, therefore, the quarantine period can be significantly shortened.
A Spanish doctor has been investigating the possibility of minimising the transmission of the coronavirus since Christmas by destroying the virus directly from the nose. Alejandro Fernández-Montero is currently conducting clinical trials to minimise transmission of Covid-19. Since graduating from Malaga, he has worked for 13 years as a doctor, researcher, and teacher at the clinic of the University of Navarra.
Status of clinical trials
Alejandro is leading the research together with ten other specialists in infectious diseases and microbiology. Currently, there are twenty people who have signed up for the trials. The aim is to be able to treat around a hundred people with this technique. This group is then compared with a group of the same size undergoing placebo treatment. Alejandro tells DiarioSur.es the goal is to present the results by the end of February.
How does the treatment against transmission of Covid-19 work?
The treatment itself is quick and painless. The lead researcher reports that it is a topical antiseptic that works like betadine on a wound. The antiseptic is injected into the front of the nose and phototherapy destroys the SARS-CoV-2 level in the nose. This then prevents the virus from spreading further.
The patients undergo this treatment for 3 days, 4 minutes each day. The PCR test is repeated three days after the end of treatment. Then again after one week, and then two weeks after the end of therapy. The researchers also take samples of the nasal mucosa to determine the virus content before and after the treatments.
Treatment not new
The phototherapy treatment itself has been used in practice for more than ten years in people suffering from an infection in the upper respiratory tract. However, the application of this therapy for minimising contamination with Covid-19 is new. Still, the researchers are hopeful that this therapy will be effective.
Positive outcome affects duration of quarantine obligation
With a positive outcome of the clinical trials, this therapy makes it possible to shorten the duration of the quarantine. This not only has a positive effect on the people themselves, but also on the continuity of the economy because people can get to work faster after an infection. The therapy would significantly relieve care because there is less chance of infecting healthcare staff and sick leave of infected healthcare employees will be shorter.
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