Dexamethasone, a widely used low-dose steroid has not been approved for treatment of COVID-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has warned.
The drug, first made in 1957 is also used in the treatment of many conditions, including rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, croup, brain swelling, eye pain following eye surgery, and along with antibiotics in tuberculosis.
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Daily Trust reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had hailed the ‘breakthrough’ in the discovery of the steroid as it was found in the U.K to have considerably reduced the risk of dying from COVID-19.
However, the NCDC stated that the federal government of Nigeria has not validated nor approved it for treatment.
In a series of tweets on its official twitter handle, NCDC stated: “The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is aware of recent outcomes from a UK-Government funded clinical trial for COVID-19.
“The results support the use of Dexamethsaone as a possible treatment to reduce the risk of death among COVID-19 patients, who require oxygen or mechanical ventilation.
“Please note that the Government of Nigeria has not validated or approved any treatment for COVID-19.
“In addition, the use of Dexamethasone for COVID-19 treatment has not been validated by WHO.
“We are aware of ongoing clinical trials conducted by scientists in the UK and will work with our sister agencies to evaluate this emerging data on the use of Dexamethasone.
“We will inform the general public on outcomes following scientific review and validation.”
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Please note that the Government of Nigeria has not validated or approved any treatment for COVID-19. In addition, the use of Dexamethasone for COVID-19 treatment has not been validated by @WHO
— NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 16, 2020
Since the index case of the coronavirus disease was reported in Nigeria in February, the number of infected persons have continue to rise astronomically.
The latest statistics provided by the NCDC reveals that Nigeria now has 17,148 confirmed cases.
490 new confirmed cases and 31 deaths were recorded on Tuesday.
To date, 17148 cases have been confirmed, 5623 cases have been discharged and 455 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Nigeria has conducted 96,402 tests.
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