Guest guest Posted November 12, 2003 Report Share Posted November 12, 2003 I assume this is from a wire service out of Hong Kong Chinese herbal soup may be effective treatment for SARS Tues Nov 11 2003 21:45:32 ET Hong Kong (dpa) - Doctors believe Chinese herbal soup may be as effective in treating SARS as western anti-viral medicines, a news report said Wednesday. Patients on mainland China were served with ``qing fei jiy du tang'' - which translates as soup for clearing the lungs - and showed better recovery rates than people in Hong Kong. The SARS mortality rate in mainland China was 7 per cent, 10 per cent less than in Hong Kong where patients were treated with the drugs ribavirin and interferon. University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, quoted in the South China Morning Post, said the soup had been analysed and found to contain the chemical compound baicalin which is active against the SARS virus. He said that although results were preliminary, the soup could offer a cheap alternative treatment in places where western drugs could not be afforded. A total of 1,755 people were infected with SARS in Hong Kong between March and June, 299 of whom died. Hong Kong used aggressive drug treatments to try to cure patients, including steroids, and some experts believe the medicines used may have pushed up the mortality rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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