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Biotech / Medical : SARS and Avian Flu -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (415)	4/23/2003 10:57:26 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 4232

Virus killer: Most Sars patients take well to Ribavirin By Tor Ching Li First created : 24 April 2003 0814 hrs (SST) 0014 hrs (GMT) Last modified : 24 April 2003 0814 hrs (SST) 0014 hrs (GMT) As researchers continue to profile the Sars virus, hospitals here have only one drug option to administer to Sars patients. And that option is ribavirin, the only broad-spectrum, anti-viral drug available. Advertisement While most patients respond positively to this treatment — first recommended for usage by Hong Kong — some may suffer from an array of side effects such as nausea, anaemia and damage to foetuses and kidneys. “The most common side effect complained of is nausea,” said Dr Annelise Wilder Smith, registrar of the Communicable Disease Centre and doctor at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. “Some suffer from anaemia but medication is stopped once this is detected.” Although the anaemia is temporary, damage such as the malformation of foetuses is not. Dr Wilder Smith told TODAY that all female patients are tested for pregnancy and will not be given ribavirin if they are pregnant. The few cases of pregnant Sars patients she has handled so far “all did fairly well”. “They were given ‘supportive treatment’,” she said. “Which means letting them rest! Of course, they were treated for whatever symptoms they had.” While there is “no absolute consensus” yet on who should be given ribavirin, it is never given to patients with a history of kidney problems. Dr Wilder Smith said: “Most of the time, it is the patients’ immune system fighting for itself, not the drug.” channelnewsasia.com