Coronavirus: Four Middle East states trialing breakthrough Covid-19 treatment

Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait and Pakistan are taking part in clinical trials of steroid treatment

An ampoule of dexamethasone. Researchers say the corticosteroid, used to treat some infections and cancers, could be an effective treatment for Covid-19. Reuters

A widely used steroid is the first medicine shown to save the lives of Covid-19 patients, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.

More than 100 countries including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait and Pakistan have joined clinical trials of dexamethasone, said Ahmed Al Mandhari, the WHO’s director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Jordan will join the test countries, Dr Al Mandhari said.

He said the WHO was in the final stage of testing the drug and 1.5 million test tools had been given to 129 countries.

Militants of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, wearing protective masks against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread, march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day Parade in Donetsk, Ukraine. REUTERS

epa08503091 Peet (R) trains his students surrounded by plastic sheets to ensure social distancing at the Inspire South Bay Fitness gym amid the coronavirus pandemic in Redondo Beach, California. EPA

Face masks hang from a rope to dry at a house in Bahia Honda, Artemisa province, Cuba, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Cuba has controlled the pandemic, but its economic income, which is partially used to buy food, was affected by the lack of tourism. The island now faces a food shortage which it is trying to alleviate by increasing local production. AFP

A health worker remains at the COVID-19 Hospitalization Operational Unit of the Military Field 1, at the National Defense Secretariat in Mexico City. The facility, originally a dormitory for the 6th Mortar Group, was adapted to serve high, medium and low severity COVID-19 patients. AFP

A view shows shared electric scooters parked in front of the Coliseum monument in Rome, as the country eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19. With deconfinement and good weather, self-service shared electric scooters have invaded the streets of Rome in recent days, a novelty in the Eternal City, which in turn is discovering the joys and nuisances of new forms of mobility. AFP

The Uceli Quartet perform for an audience made of plants during a concert created by Spanish artist Eugenio Ampudia and that will be later streamed to mark the reopening of the Liceu Grand Theatre in Barcelona following a national lockdown to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP

Barber Renan Estate gives a haircut to a child at home as part of his "Delivery Barber" service, as his shop is closed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in the Complexo do Alemao slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. REUTERS

Members of the public pray at St Andrew Cathedral as places of worship reopen for private prayers in Glasgow, Scotland. Places of worship reopened in Scotland today, however only for individual prayer that involves physical distancing. Masses and other large scale services are not permitted yet. Getty Images

Quarantined employees of Toennies meat processing company receive food supplies in the district Suerenheide in Verl. According to media reports, over 1300 Toennies employees at the Rheda-Wiedenbrueck plant have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the pandemic COVID-19 disease. EPA

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio (R) and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pose for photographers during a bilateral meeting at villa Madama, a sixteenth-century villa seat of representation by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic, Rome, Italy. EPA

"In general, about 40 hospitals from the [Mena] region were included in clinical trials," the official told the Asharq Al Awsat  newspaper.

The drug, used since the 1960s to treat some infections and cancers, has been described as a “major breakthrough” in the pandemic, Dr Al Mandhari said.

The WHO said clinical trials in the UK found that dexamethasone can save the lives of patients who are severely ill with Covid-19.

More than 9.2 million infections with the coronavirus that causes the disease have been confirmed worldwide, a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University shows.

“For patients using ventilators, this treatment has been shown to reduce mortality by about a third," Dr Al Mandhari said.

"And for patients who only need oxygen, the death rate has been reduced by about a fifth."

He was referring to preliminary results Britain shared with the health agency.

“This is the first treatment that has been shown to reduce mortality in Covid-19 patients who need oxygen support,” Dr Al Mandhari said.

The disease, caused by the coronavirus, has killed more than 476,000 people globally.

Dexamethasone is on the US Food and Drug Administration’s list of drugs in short supply.

But suppliers including one of the largest, Germany’s Fresenius, said they had it available.

Dr Al Mandhari raised concern that many countries in the Middle East were easing restrictions against the pandemic without “adhering to the guidelines issued by the WHO, which constitutes a risk as cases continue to increase”.

He said conflict also posed a huge challenge to the world body’s ability to respond to the crisis.

This was caused by “the fragile health systems in the countries of conflict, the deterioration of infrastructure, the lack of medical personnel and the population being in generally poor health".