Recombinant interferons in comprehensive therapy for new coronavirus infection
The second decade of the 21st century has brought us a new coronavirus infection, SARS-CoV-2, which affects not only animals (livestock, companion animals, birds), but also people, causing severe disease in them (COVID-19) with various clinical variants: from upper respiratory tract lesions to sepsis and thromboembolism. Coronaviruses are known to suppress the production of IFN-I. Therefore, administration of IFN-I is a promising strategy for early treatment and prevention of COVID-19. In the Russian Federation, treatment of COVID-19 in children is performed in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health of Russia and depends on the clinical form of the disease. Mild and moderate forms of the disease, observed in the majority of children, are treated according to the protocols for managing ARVI, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia in children. However, the fact that non-severe COVID-19 shares clinical manifestations with other infections caused by respiratory viruses and herpesviruses (including cytomegalovirus, HHV6A/B, and Epstein-Barr virus), as well as recently increased proportion of mixed viral infections necessitate (until the etiological diagnosis is confirmed) the administration of drugs recommended for the treatment of seasonal ARVI (including intranasal forms of IFN-α, etc.). Such therapeutic tactics often ensures faster improvement and symptom elimination. We report a case of mixed respiratory infection caused by two viruses (SARS-CoV-2 and Epstein–Barr virus) in a child. Early treatment with recombinant interferon-α2b with taurine resulted in fever alleviation and normalization of child’s condition by the moment of transfer to a specialized department. Key words: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, children, treatment, interferon.