HOUSTON — A Facebook post about a COVID-19 study in Italy has gotten several viewers’ attention. They want to know if it’s true that autopsies completed in Italy really found that COVID-19 is a bacteria, not a virus. The post also says the coronavirus can be treated with aspirin and anticoagulants.
Our sources for this question are the World Health Organization, infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Hotez, and Dr. Rodrigo Hasbun, infectious disease specialist with UT Physicians/UTHealth. They say the claim is false, but it requires context.
On its myth busters web page, the World Health Organization says “the new coronavirus is a virus.” However, Hasbun says some COVID-19 patients do have complications with bacterial infections and blood clots.
In those cases, Hotez agrees those complications may require antibiotics or anticoagulants.
“People often who are admitted now to the hospital’s in the TMC are placed on anticoagulation therapy. But it’s due to the virus binding to the blood vessels,” Hotez said.
Although several medications are being tested, as of now, there are no proven treatments for the coronavirus itself.
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