More virus cases confirmed on Japan liner - as it happened
This blog is closed
6.55pm GMT
Here is quick summary of the latest coronavirus developments across the globe over the past few hours:
6.20pm GMT
Doctors in Shanghai are using infusions of blood plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus to treat those still battling the infection, with some encouraging results.
A top emergency expert at the World Health Organization said that using convalescent plasma was a "very valid" approach to test, but it was important to get the timing right to maximise the boost to a patient's immunity.
It is a very important area to pursue. Because 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.
So it must be given at the right time, because it mops up the virus in the system, and it just gives the new patient's immune system a vital push at the time it needs it. But it has to be carefully timed and it's not always successful.
Continue reading...