Indian scientist developed antiviral therapy to stop the spread of covid, named TIP

A team of US researchers, including Indian-origin scientist Sonali Chaturvedi, has developed a one-dose intranasal therapy that not only reduces the symptoms of various variants of the Covid, but also protects against the virus. The study findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco named this nasal antiviral a therapeutic interfering particle (TIP)

Scientists said that TIP can not only reduce the amount of virus released from infected organisms, but can also limit its spread. Sonali, the first author of the study, says, 'To our knowledge, this is the only single-dose antiviral that not only reduces the symptoms and severity of Kovid-19, but also stops the spread of the virus.

Limiting the spread of other respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, has been the most difficult challenge for any antiviral and vaccine. According to Gladstone senior researcher Lior Weinberger, 'This study suggests that a single dose of TIP limits the amount of virus that can be transmitted and protects other organisms that come into contact with infected organisms.

Chaturvedi said, Over the years, many of the challenges of the pandemic are related to the emergence of new forms.

The ability of TIP is much more than that of suppressing the virus present in infected cells. Since TIP is present within the cells it targets, it is also able to inhibit the growth of the virus.