Kerala, the first Indian state ready to try Covid-19 plasma therapy has no critically-ill patients for trials

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently gave a nod to Kerala to conduct clinical trials of plasma treatment.
  
• However, the state may not need to implement it just yet as it has no critically-ill cases.
  
• According to Manoj Murhekar, director of the Indian Institute of Epidemiology, the treatment will not be used on patients with mild symptoms.
  
• The state, which was first to report a Coronavirus positive case, now has no severely-ill cases. Also, per day rise in Covid-19 patients has also been minimal.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently gave a nod to conduct clinical trials of plasma treatment by injecting the Covid-19 patient with the blood plasma of people who recovered from the infection.

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Kerala was the first state to get approvals to start clinical trials of convalescent plasma therapy in India. However, the state may not need to implement it just yet.

‘No critically ill patients’

That’s because the state has no critically ill cases. “We are ready to conduct clinical trials, but the state government’s health department has to take a call. At present, the number of cases has declined and there are no critically ill patients in Kerala,” Asha Kishore, director at the institute, told ET.

According to Manoj Murhekar, director of the Indian Institute of Epidemiology, the treatment will not be used on patients with mild symptoms. “This will be for those who are on ventilators and under clinical trial mode, before being recommended for all patients,” he said.

After approval from ICMR, Kerala started counselling the recovered patients for possible donations and focussing on collecting plasma samples of recovered patients. “The current effort is not to transfuse the plasma in patients but to begin the process of drawing and storing the plasma from donors to keep it ready when the time comes,” experts told ThePrint.

Kerala moves to ‘flatten the curve’

The state, which was first to report a Coronavirus positive case, has been lauded by many for managing the epidemic spread to a minimum.

“If the curve stays flat, Kerala will be a shining example for the world in managing Covid-19. Tired of reading about South Korea and other examples of how to manage the pandemic,” group chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted.

In the last two months, the state has reported three deaths and 396 confirmed cases while over a 100,000 people remain quarantined. This is a significantly lower number compared to the overall spike in infections across the country.

Why plasma treatment?

Those cured already have the antibodies that drive the virus away. They can be used to do the same for another patient. Research reveals that it can help boost the immune system of the infected.

“What hyperimmune globulin does is it concentrates the antibodies in a recovered patient. You are essentially giving the new victim’s immune system a boost of antibodies to hopefully get them through the very difficult phase,” said Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies programme.

Meanwhile, Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which registered high numbers of Coronavirus fatalities are now bracing up to conduct clinical trials.

See also:
India is now getting ready to administer plasma treatment for Covid-19 patients

Coronavirus cases in India state wise