As the world races to find a cure for coronavirus, Kenyan scientists have stepped up efforts to find a local cure for Covid-19.
Researchers at KEMRI (Kenya Medical Research Institute), are testing whether a herbal drug known as Zedupex can be used as a remedy for the virus.
Dr. Festus Tolo, the lead scientist at KEMRI has been tasked with finding out whether the herbal-based drug will be effective against COVID-19.
Zedupex, developed in 2015 by Kenyan researchers, has been used in the treatment of herpes.
According to the VOA, Tolo says his team does not know yet whether the drug will work against the virus.
“We are still in very early stages. We cannot be able to say, knowing that the herpes simplex virus is a DNA virus and the coronavirus is an RNA virus,” he said.
Adding that “This really means that we need to — first of all — to confirm, check whether there’s activity before we can be able to really say this is a product we can explore further for COVID management.”
Kenya has recorded more than 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease with 50 deaths.