Archive for the ‘Viruses’ Category

Hydroxychloroquine & Azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 Patients

https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-IHU-2-1.pdf

Clinical and microbiological effect of a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 patients with at least a six-day follow up: an observational study

Running title: Hydroxychloroquine-Azithromycin and COVID-19

Philippe Gautret1,2,£ 1,3,$ 1,2 1,2,4, Jean-Christophe Lagier , Philippe Parola , Van Thuan Hoang ,11111Line Meddeb , Jacques Sevestre , Morgane Mailhe , Barbara Doudier, Camille Aubry ,11151Sophie Amrane , Piseth Seng , Marie Hocquart , Julie Finance , Vera Esteves Vieira , Hervé Tissot Dupont1,3 6,7 1,3 1,3, Stéphane Honoré , Andreas Stein , Matthieu Million , Philippe1,3 1,3 8 9 10Colson , Bernard La Scola , Véronique Veit , Alexis Jacquier , Jean-Claude DeharoMichel Drancourt1,3*Didier Raoult .

Abstract

We need an effective treatment to cure COVID-19 patients and to decrease the virus carriage duration. In 80 in-patients receiving a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin we noted a clinical improvement in all but one 86 year-old patient who died, and one 74 year- old patient still in intensive care unit. A rapid fall of nasopharyngeal viral load tested by qPCR was noted, with 83% negative at Day7, and 93% at Day8. Virus cultures from patient respiratory samples were negative in 97.5% patients at Day5. This allowed patients to rapidly de discharge from highly contagious wards with a mean length of stay of five days. We believe other teams should urgently evaluate this cost-effective therapeutic strategy, to both avoid the spread of the disease and treat patients as soon as possible before severe respiratory irreversible complications take hold.

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**Comment**

The study shows a quick reduction of the viral load. 57.5% presented with at least one risk factor for complication of COVID-19 (Hypertension, diabetes, respiratory disease…) The treatment given was Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate 200 mg PO three times a day for 10 days with Azithromycin 500mg day 1 then 250 mg for the 4 following days. Patients with pneumonia received in addition Ceftriaxone. 79 out of the 80 patients received their treatment on average 4.9 days after the onset of the illness. The results show that 81.3% of patients (65/80) got a clinical improvement that enabled them to be discharged from the hospital.Only 15% required oxygen therapy. 3 patients were admitted in ICU. Only one out of these 3 patients (74 years old) is still in ICU. One death happened in a 86 year old patient. A quick drop of the nasopharyngeal viral load was observed with 83% of negative test at day 7 and 93% of negative tests at day 8. After 10 days, only 2 patients presented with a positive viral test. 97.5% of the viral cultures performed on respiratory samples were negative at day 5.

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/the-truth-about-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil-in-the-treatment-of-covid-19/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/25/what-exactly-is-hydroxychloroquine-the-drug-that-is-being-tested-as-the-first-potential-coronavirus-treatment/

 

 

Category:

Treatment, Viruses

How Deadly is the Coronavirus? It’s Still Far From Clear (Everything is Set Up To Show High Numbers)

This article explains why COVID-19 numbers are so high.  Written by a retired UK pathology professor and NHS consultant pathologist.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/The-evidence-on-Covid-19-is-not-as-clear-as-we-think

Dr John Lee

How deadly is the coronavirus? It’s still far from clear

There is room for different interpretations of the data
From magazine issue: 28 March 2020

In announcing the most far-reaching restrictions on personal freedom in the history of our nation, Boris Johnson resolutely followed the scientific advice that he had been given. The advisers to the government seem calm and collected, with a solid consensus among them. In the face of a new viral threat, with numbers of cases surging daily, I’m not sure that any prime minister would have acted very differently.

But I’d like to raise some perspectives that have hardly been aired in the past weeks, and which point to an interpretation of the figures rather different from that which the government is acting on. I’m a recently-retired Professor of Pathology and NHS consultant pathologist, and have spent most of my adult life in healthcare and science – fields which, all too often, are characterised by doubt rather than certainty. There is room for different interpretations of the current data.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

Important take-aways:

  1. As of now COVID-19 deaths are lower than other infectious diseases (such as the flu)
  2. Testing that is based in hospitals will over estimate virulence of infection because sicker people are in the hospital
  3. They have updated the list of notifiable diseases to include COVID-19 which means every positive test for it must be notified in a way that the flu and other infections would not be – making it appear more prevalent and dangerous due to record keeping. Criteria for recording deaths must be tightened.
  4. If anyone with a positive test for COVID-19 dies, staff will record the COVID-19 on the death certificate contrary to usual practice for most infections of this kind. The author astutely points out that there is a big difference between finding something and it directly causing illness or death.  Ironically, this very fact has been used against Lyme patients for decades as authorities are so careful about stating that finding Bb in a person doesn’t mean it is causing anything let alone death. Bias is clearly evident in how they are handling COVID-19 vs Lyme disease
  5. Taking drastic measures to reduce COVID-19 follows that deaths will go down convincing authorities that they have averted something that was never going to be as severe as feared
  6. If the flu or seasonal viruses were tracked as COVID-19 is, they too would show exponential rises. The flu, according to the CDC states that since September, 38 MILLION Americans were infected which killed 23,000
  7. He states comparing data from different countries is like comparing apples and oranges
  8. With time, most infections tend to decrease in virulence as an epidemic progresses
  9. There isn’t any statistical evidence for excess COVID-19 deaths in any part of the world
  10. Social distancing for the elderly and immune-suppressed is reasonable but there’s no evidence that drastic measures should be taken
  11. TV is not science – no matter how how shocking
  12. When lock-down measures are lifted, there WILL be more cases again but shouldn’t be alarming
  13. It will take months, even years before wider implications can be seen (damaging children’s education, increased suicides, mental health problems, taking resources away, effects on food production and global commerce – will have unquantifiable consequences for people)
  14. Rushed science is almost always bad science
  15. Policies have been decided without concrete evidence
  16. We must keep an open mind and look for what is, not for what we fear might be
Great article!  Please share this as people are being led by the media and do not understand what’s going on with numbers.  Everything is being stacked to make numbers look high – from the inaccurate testing with false positives to the way deaths are being recorded.

For more:  https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/cdcs-deadly-testing-fiasco-centralization-of-public-health-authority-a-threat-to-national-security/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/21/study-shows-covid-19-testing-as-bad-as-lyme-msids-testing/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/17/stunning-insights-into-the-corona-panic-by-dr-wolfgang-wodarg/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/16/does-the-coronavirus-exist/

Category:

Activism, Viruses

LA Purchases 20K Coronavirus Test Kits From South Korean Company

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/03/24/la-purchases-20k-coronavirus-test-kits-from-south-korean-company/ News Video Here

March 24, 2020

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Los Angeles city and county leaders announced Monday they have purchased 20,000 coronavirus testing kits from a South Korean biotech company.

The L.A. City Council and the L.A. Board of Supervisors jointly spent $1.25 million to immediately purchase 20,000 tests from Seegene Technologies, the two agencies said in a news release.

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**Comment**

This should never have had to happen.  Because our conflict-riddled CDC insists upon having their own tests so they can patent them for profit, the U.S. STILL doesn’t have a reliable test for COVID-19.

For more on the COVID-19 testing fiasco:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/cdcs-deadly-testing-fiasco-centralization-of-public-health-authority-a-threat-to-national-security/ perfectly good, reliable tests were offered to the U.S., but similarly with Lyme disease testing the CDC insists upon having their own.  As a result the U.S. has absolutely NO idea how many cases there are due to extremely faulty testing: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/21/study-shows-covid-19-testing-as-bad-as-lyme-msids-testing/

And due to these inaccurate tests, they can not even begin to predict anything about prevalence:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/28/cuomo-admits-decision-to-quarantine-everyone-at-once-was-not-the-best-strategy/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/28/epidemiologist-behind-highly-cited-coronavirus-model-drastically-downgrades-projection/

Recently Dr. Sin Hang Lee has created an accurate DNA sequencing test for COVID-19:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/25/new-dna-sequencing-test-for-covid-20-100-accurate-can-also-test-for-5-strains/

You may recognize Lee’s name as he currently has a lawsuit against the CDC for dismissing his direct detection test for Lyme disease:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/15/milford-pathologist-fires-broadside-at-cdc-motion-to-discuss/

The CDC has a long and sordid history of dissing any tests but their own.  They want to design the test for their purposes so ultimately they can create a vaccine and other patentable products.

 

Category:

Activism, Testing, Viruses

Corona With a Twist of Lyme

https://globallymealliance.org/corona-with-a-twist-of-lyme/

by Jennifer Crystal

Our nation is in a crisis about novel coronavirus COVID-19, and no one is more fearful than those with pre-existing conditions. These patients, along with the elderly, are at high risk if they contract the virus. Lyme patients are rightfully concerned that their underlying tick-borne infections makes them especially susceptible to COVID-19, and that getting COVID-19 will make their original underlyinginfection worse, landing them in the hospital on a ventilator.

I understand these worries, because I have them, too. While recognizing and not downplaying the risks, I want to give some measure of reassurance based solely on my own experience as a patient with Lyme, babesia, and ehrlichia, who is also recovering from a suspected case of COVID-19.

I first became symptomatic two weeks ago. As of this writing, my symptoms have diminished dramatically. I haven’t had a fever in five days, and my cough and shortness of breath are becoming less evident by the day. Despite my tick-borne infections, my immune system is fighting this respiratory virus very well. Moreover, the presumed virus does not seem to have worsened my response to tick-borne infections.

I’ve been lucky, and I know that won’t be the case for everyone. But there are steps Lyme patients can take now, either to prevent themselves from getting sick or to treat the virus if it’s a mild case:

  • Call your doctor. If you are not symptomatic, ask your Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) what you should do to boost your immune system. My doctor had me increase the dose of some of my supplements. Do not just increase supplements or add new ones on your own, or based on advice you get off the internet. If you become symptomatic, call both your LLMD and your Primary Care Doctor before you do anything or go anywhere, unless you are in critical condition.
  • Do not immediately go to a hospital, doctor’s office, or testing center unless you are in critical condition. If you are mildly symptomatic, call your doctor and ask if it makes sense for you to be tested, if you need acute medical care, or if you can self-treat at home. The latter is the safest option. If you don’t already have COVID-19, you can contract it at a doctor’s office, hospital or testing center. If you do have it, you could infect others while you’re out and about. The exception is if you have a high fever or are in severe respiratory distress. Had I known a week ago what would happen when I did go for a test, I would have just stayed home, assumed I had COVID-19 and self-quarantined.
  • Do not pre-order hydroxychloroquine or take it prophylactically unless prescribed by your doctor. If you are already on hydroxychloroquine for Lyme and you contract COVID-19, the drug may help kill the virus. But there is not yet evidence taking it as a preventive measure might not help protect you from COVID-19, and it might worsen your Lyme symptoms. More importantly, it will diminish the supply for patients who have a genuine need for the medication, including certain Lyme patients and those with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
  • Electrolyte-enhanced water: COVID-19 is dehydrating. Stock up now, before you get sick, on as much electrolyte water as your family would reasonably need for a two-week period. Don’t buy more than that amount; leave some for other people, too. Do not hoard.
  • Fever reducers: Again, have these on hand before you get sick, but also do not hoard supplies.
  • Inhaler: Like hydroxychloroquine, this is not something you can or should use prophylactically, but if you already use an inhaler, this would be a great time to make sure it’s not expired or to get it refilled. If you experience mild COVID-19 symptoms, your doctor may prescribe a non-steroid bronchodilator. This has helped me immensely. Again, if you can, it’s better to use this treatment at home than to require a ventilator at a hospital.
  • Stay home! This time of social distancing is about you, the immunocompromised. Protect yourself! Don’t socialize with anyone outside of your immediate family. Even if that person seems healthy, they could be a carrier who could unknowingly pass COVID-19 on to you. Order groceries online and wipe them down with antiseptic wipes before bringing them into the house.
  • Wash and sanitize: Wash your hands as much as possible, for at least 20 seconds with warm soapy water. Sanitize an object before you touch it.
  • Do not panic! Lyme spirochetes thrive on stress. So don’t give them reason to start replicating while you’re trying to fend off an acute infection. The calmer you can stay, the healthier your body will remain.
  • And finally, Be Tick AWARE: Don’t let protecting yourself from one illness leave you vulnerable to another. Tick season has started and the ticks are out in full force, expanding their geographical reach more than ever. Make sure to protect yourself and your pets if you do go outside by using repellant and undertaking tick checks.

As Lyme patients, you may be compromised immunologically, but you are ahead of the game when it comes to convalescence and social distancing. You know what it’s like to be sick for much longer than the standard length of time for COVID-19. You know what it’s like to be isolated at home. You know how to take care of yourself and advocate for your needs. You already have resilience.

With these suggestions, appropriately considering, I hope that you will stay healthy, or, that if you do contract COVID-19, that you will fight it off effectively and promptly.

Be well.

Related Post:
Letter from CEO About COVID-19 and GLA Community 

jennifer crystal_2

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own.

Jennifer Crystal is a writer and educator in Boston. Her memoir about her medical journey is forthcoming. Contact her at lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com.

 

 

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**Comment**

Great advice.  Lyme/MSIDS patients are already ahead of the curve in that we’ve had to learn about our bodies, healthy diet, the need for restful sleep, and supplementing for our body’s imbalances.  This is huge.  Never underestimate all you’ve had to learn and incorporate into your life as it will help you in so many ways.  As the author states, social distancing is a way of life for Lyme/MSIDS patients.

I too feel I had COVID-19 (based upon symptoms – I wasn’t tested, but then again please remember testing for this is abysmal), as did the rest of my family, and many of my friends and neighbors.  It was severe and laid me out for about a week but thankfully my immune system is functioning well and I bounced back quickly.  I have no long-term effects.

I take a different approach to fever-reducers.  I rarely use them.  I believe in letting a fever do the work it was designed to do – kill pathogens.  I’m obviously not alone in this thinking as hyperthermia is one of the main treatments for Lyme used in this German clinic:  https://elemental.medium.com/bringing-the-heat-using-hyperthermia-to-treat-lyme-disease-f61f81706c67  FYI:  I heard Douwes at a conference on this treatment and am not convinced it is curative for Lyme/MSIDS.  Like all other treatments – relapses still occur.

Be that as it may, heat still helps the body fight infections:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/28/hotter-bodies-better-at-fighting-disease/

In fact, if you don’t have a fever you can induce one by using saunas, Biomat-type mats, and hot baths.  I’ve used heat therapy the entire time I was in treatment for tick-borne illness and it helps with pain, relaxation, and by heating the body to assist it in killing pathogens. I still use it.

For Lyme/MSIDS patients who are very ill or just recovering, this article is a good read:  https://hollywoodlife.com/2020/03/24/justin-bieber-lyme-disease-coronavirus-risks-doctor-interview/

Key quote:

“If they have that other layer of possible chronic infections or have immune dysregulation, they need to be all the more cautious,” Dr. Dempsey

Again, for perspective, look at this graph (as of January 2020) comparing COVID-19 deaths to other diseases:

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-chart-shows-how-the-wuhan-virus-compares-to-other-recent-outbreaks  Go here to see the graph more clearly – but COVID-19 is last on the list for deaths.  

Category:

Lyme, Viruses

Dr. Fauci Pushes For COVID-19 Vaccine Despite Research Showing Vaccinated May Get Sicker And Even Die (Lab Animals Got Sicker Too)

Approx. 5 Min

Dr. Fauci & COVID-19: Therapeutics Now OR Vaccines Later?

There is a raging debate in our government. How should America respond to the Coronavirus crisis? With therapeutic drugs? Or with a vaccine? Dr. Anthony Fauci is predictably shining a spotlight on risky and uncertain coronavirus vaccines that may not be available for two years, rather than prioritizing the short-term therapies that patients need right now.

In light of the immunity from liability guaranteed by the PREP Act during declared emergencies, fast-tracked vaccines are a sweetheart deal for both biopharma and government. Will Big Pharma and biotech companies be allowed to cash in on this catastrophe with speculative, patentable vaccines at the expense of the therapeutics needed to save lives now?

To keep updated on this issue and others, sign up for our free emails: ChildrensHealthDefense.org

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**Comment**

To this day the U.S. does NOT have an effective COVID-19 test, which means the media is reporting numbers that are completely unreliable.  Then there’s the issue of effective treatments that the CDC would rather push aside to focus on “sexy” vaccines that will make them money.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/21/study-shows-covid-19-testing-as-bad-as-lyme-msids-testing/

None of this this new and has been going on for a long time.

Fauci quietly sits on the Leadership Council of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Vaccine Action Plan, which is currently reaching the finality of its so-called “Decade of Vaccines” initiative that began in 2010. This fully explains why he’s gone all-in for a future Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, and why he’s signaled that Americans will continue to be held hostage until they agree to get it.  https://www.sgtreport.com/2020/04/anthony-fauci-wants-coronavirus-vaccines-to-be-forced-on-all-americans/

CDC/HHS is a captured agency and not to be trusted with anything:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/11/29/spider-attacks-cdc/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/06/cdcs-troubling-lack-of-research-ethics/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/01/13/lyme-science-owned-by-good-ol-boys/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/18/hhs-not-to-be-trusted-with-lyme/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/16/the-cdc-is-a-captured-agency/

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/28/epidemiologist-behind-highly-cited-coronavirus-model-drastically-downgrades-projection/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/

Mouse study:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3209347/A Double-Inactivated Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Vaccine Provides Incomplete Protection in Mice and Induces Increased Eosinophilic Proinflammatory Pulmonary Response upon Challenge

Category:

vaccines, Viruses