Cuba's Successes in Health
Care
Globe and Mail Ignores Cuba's Contribution to Fight Against Global Pandemic
- Isaac Saney, Canadian
Network on Cuba -
Members of the Henry Reeve Brigade in Havana, April 25, 2020, as they
prepare to leave for South Africa to fight COVID-19 pandemic.
The following
letter was sent to the Globe and Mail on May 13 by Isaac Saney,
Co-Chair & Spokesperson, Canadian Network On Cuba and a Cuba
Specialist, Dalhousie University in Halifax.
I was quite surprised that the Globe and Mail's
May 12 article, "Interferon emerges as potential treatment for
COVID-19," did not mention Cuba's Interferon Alfa 2B Recombinant
(IFNrec), which is gaining an increasing international profile in the
fight against COVID-19. Articles have been published in Newsweek, Le Monde Diplomatique,
International
Business Times, and important scientific journals like Lancet and the World Journal of Pediatrics.
It has been used against various viral infections for which there are
no specific therapies available. It has been demonstrated to activate
the patient's immune system and to inhibit viral replication. In Cuba,
IFNrec has been used to combat outbreaks of dengue hemorrhagic fever
and conjunctivitis, as well as treat Hepatitis B and C. It has, also,
demonstrated effectiveness in combatting and providing protection
against infections caused by various versions of the coronavirus, such
as, SARS-CoV (the coronavirus of the 2002 outbreak) and MERS-CoV (the
coronavirus of the 2012 outbreak).
 While IFNrec is not a panacea,
preliminary reports are promising, pointing to its efficacy (combined
with other drugs) in treating COVID-19. In Cuba and its medical
missions in more than 25 countries, IFNrec is a crucial part of the
treatment protocols and is also used as a preventative measure to
protect healthcare workers from contagion. China and Spain have
incorporated IFNrec into their national protocols and clinical
guidelines for COVID-19 treatment, where it is a crucial component of
the anti-viral treatment to combat the coronavirus. In China, IFNrec,
together with Lopinavir/Ritonavir, is part of a nebulized treatment
recommended for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Nebulized Interferon
Alfa 2B is also recommended as a treatment for children and pregnant
women with COVID-19. Although, IFNrec is not the only drug used to
confront the COVID-19 pandemic in China, it is one of the most used
drugs for the treatment of COVID-19, especially in its aerosol form.
Thus, while IFNrec is not a cure, it has shown considerable promise as
a therapeutic response to COVID-19.
Many countries are now drawing on Cuba's expertise
in fighting COVID-19 as the island nation has treatment regimens for
COVID-19, treatments that are not available in Canada or the United
States. At present more than 80 countries have requested and sought to
use these treatments for confronting the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 19 - May 30, 2020
Article Link:
Cuba's Successes in Health
Care: Globe and Mail Ignores Cuba's Contribution to Fight Against Global Pandemic - Isaac Saney, Canadian
Network on Cuba
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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