China is using HIV drugs to treat the deadly coronavirus as experts search for a cure, according to a report.
Beijing officials with China’s National Health Commission said two drugs used to combat HIV are being recommended to treat pneumonia symptoms from the virus, Bloomberg reported.
Patients are being advised to take tablets of lopinavir and Ritonavir twice a day, the outlet reported.
Health officials said there’s no known cure for the flu-like illness, but scientists are racing to figure out a vaccine.
The US National Institute of Health is researching the genetic code of the virus and hoping to begin human trials for a potential vaccine in three months.
The new coronavirus strain originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has killed at least 56 people as of Sunday.