German Scientists Hoping Permitted To Enter Wuhan For Coronavirus Research

JAKARTA - The outbreak of the new corona virus (2019-nCoV / Wuhan Flu) has made many people afraid to visit China. Many airports carry out checks on Chinese tourists, and there are even restrictions for Chinese tourists to enter the country. However, one of the researchers hopes to be allowed to visit the city of Wuhan, the area that spreads the corona virus in China.

He is Rolf Hilgenfeld, a corona virus researcher from Germany and a professor at the University of Lubeck. Hilgenfeld succeeded in developing a cure for the coronavirus in 2002-2003, when the SARS virus also broke out in China.

Hilgenfeld hopes to come to Wuhan, join researchers there to test the two compounds in animals infected with the coronavirus. Early-stage drug candidates are not ready for use in humans yet, but Hilgenfeld wants to start animal testing with the aim of developing treatments for future coronavirus outbreaks.

Hilgenfeld said he wanted to carry two of the inhibitors that had been developed for SARS-CoV. Hilgenfeld did this to test its effect on 2019-nCoV which broke out for the first time in Wuhan.

Quoted from Xinhua, Monday, January 27, 2020, scientists have found that 2019-nCov is 80 percent similar to SARS-CoV. Hilgenfeld hopes that the inhibitors he has developed over the years can help research the 2019-nCov drug.

In an interview, Hilgenfeld said the 2019-nCov experiment would be carried out on mice and a toxicology trial would be conducted to eliminate other side effects that the drugs might cause. Mass production will be carried out if the inhibitor passes clinical trials.

"The corona virus can be self-limiting. After a certain period of time, when enough people produce antibodies, the virus gradually decreases, thus ending the spread of the epidemic," Hilgenfeld said.

During an interview, Hilgenfeld was asked whether he was not worried about contracting the corona virus which had killed 80 people. Hilgenfeld admitted that he was not worried because he had been in the same situation while researching a drug for SARS.

"I had the same situation when I went to Beijing in 2003 for SARS research. I was on a flight with eight people. I had to transit in Japan because there were no flights from Europe. In Wuhan, I would wear a face mask all the time," Hilgenfeld said. .

For your information, a study conducted by Chinese scientists stated that the Wuhan corona virus and SARS came from the same 'ancestor', namely the beta-corona virus which is usually found in bats. However, the virus cannot be transmitted to humans without an intermediary. Researchers are still trying to find out which animal really is the cause of the spread of the corona virus in Wuhan.

Not only that, a study released by a group of Chinese scientists also said that the corona virus was most likely from a snake. The corona virus protein code is most similar to the viral protein code present in snakes. Snakes and bats are exotic foods that are often consumed in China.