Coronavirus Patient In Malaysia Heals, No HIV Drug Used

The four-year-old Chinese national is now allowed to return home after testing negative for 2019-nCoV.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — A four-year-old Chinese national has recovered from the China-linked novel coronavirus in Malaysia, the country’s first cure, after receiving treatment to address her symptoms, health authorities declared.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told CodeBlue that no HIV medicine was used to treat the girl, who recovered from 2019-nCoV and did not deteriorate. Thailand previously reported apparent success in treating severe cases of the new strain of coronavirus with a cocktail of antivirals for HIV and the flu.

“No we did not use any HIV medicine,” Dr Noor Hisham said. “Symptomatic treatment.”

The novel coronavirus, which comes from the same family of viruses that causes SARS and MERS, produces symptoms like fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

“More important is the child immunity response, to recovery from the n-CoV infection,” Dr Noor Hisham told CodeBlue. “Not all patients will deteriorate and succumb to the virus.”

Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement that the four-year-old Chinese girl, who tested positive last January 29 for 2019-nCoV, was cleared of the new strain of coronavirus in two tests after treatment in Hospital Sultanah Maliha, Langkawi. She will now be allowed to return home to China.

“This case shows that 2019-nCoV can be treated and the patient can recover completely, like any other cases reported in China.

“The perception of many that this illness will certainly cause death is not accurate,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

Malaysia has confirmed 10 novel coronavirus infections as of today, comprising nine Chinese nationals and a Malaysian man, the first local patient.

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