On April 5th, the Chinese Embassy in Japan invited academician Zhang Boli, a TCM expert, and Norio Omagari, a senior expert in infectious diseases in Japan, to answer online questions concerning the epidemic of COVID-19 for Chinese students and overseas Chinese in Japan.

Zhang Boli, academician with Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, asked Kong Xuanyou, Chinese ambassador to Japan, whether there was any TCM drugs in the care package? Kong Xuanyou said that the care package showed the concern and care of the CPC and Chinese nation for the Chinese students studying abroad, and the embassy devoted great efforts in sending the care package the those students. There are some TCM drugs in the care package, such as Lianhua Qingwen Capsules. It is said that 700,000 boxes of Lianhua Qingwen capsules have been sent to all embassies. Zhang Boli introduced that under the guidance of Zhong Nanshan, Li Lanjuan, Liu Qingquan and Zhang Boli, more than 20 institutes in 9 provinces jointly conducted an evidence-based evaluation of Lianhua Qingwen granule, confirming that it definitely has efficacy on mild and moderate patients.

For more than an hour, Zhang Boli talked with Chinese students and overseas Chinese in Japan, Kong Xuanyou and Norio Omagari. Zhang Boli is a member of the expert group of the Central Steering Group. Some key points are the following.

WEB ADDRESS:  https://v.qq.com/x/page/a09454tr8om.html 

TCM Can Cure Mild and Moderate Patients

Zhang Boli said that both COVID-19 and SARS are coronaviruses, but they belong to different variants and mainly damage patients’ lungs and immune system. From the perspective of TCM, COVID-19 is a plague, characterized by dampness. Its damage to people is mild at the beginning, giving people the illusion. A week later, the condition deteriorates sharply, and some patients even die before treatment. Because there are no special drugs and vaccines, TCM can bring its advantage into full play by syndrome differentiation and treatment, and we thus decided the prescriptions. TCM can cure mild and moderate patients. As the saying goes, good medicines will be produced in dealing with epidemic, and a batch of good medicines will be produced in dealing with a major epidemic. For example, "three drugs and three prescriptions". "Three drugs" "refer to Jinhua Qinggan Granules, Lianhua Qingwen Capsules, Xuebijing Injection" , which are on the market.

Zhang Boli said that being panic was understandable. Zhang Boli experienced SARS in 2003 and participated in the battle against it. “I was also nervous this time, mainly because I did not now much of it. Now I know it. In face of the epidemic, do not be nervous, for it won’t help, but it ’s important to take it seriously. As long as strict quarantine is carried out and the source of infection is cut off, the effect will be manifested in two weeks, which has also been shown abroad, including Italy. At the same time, personal protection is important and you should try to protect yourselves. Try to reduce social gatherings and not stay in densely populated areas. Try not to go to elevators, restaurants and theaters. Correctly wear masks and wash your hands. These measures are very effective. Every time when you go home from outside, the first thing is to wash your hands. Do not touch your nose and eyes.”

Overseas Chinese in Isolation in Japan Should Pay Special Attention to the Forewarning of Aggravation 

Zhang Boli reminded overseas Chinese that China was different from Japan. In China, mild and moderate patients were admitted to makeshift hospitals, but Japan adopted home isolation policy. Patients at this stage should pay speciall attention to the specific symptoms and decide the time to go to the hospital. Aggravation usually occures on the fifth, sixth or seventh days. These days are critical. Symptoms such as suffocation, palpitation and fatigue will become worse after certain activity. These are prewarnings to aggravation, and in this case, patients should timely go to hospital.

He also mentioned that COVID-19 has a high risk for middle-aged and elderly people, especially those with preexisting diseases such as diabetes and coronary heart disease, and it is more likely to become severe. It is true that elderly people should pay attention to protection. But there are also elderly patients discharged from hospital. Some young patients do not care. It is not good. Many young moderate patients may also become severe ones and even die. COVID-19 has no absolute relationship with age, and young people can't ignore it. There is a big difference between COVID-19 and cold. Suffocation after exercise is a typical symptom of it.

Three Questions from Japanese Expert on Infectious Disease

Academician Zhang Boli is still working on epidemic prevention and treatment in Wuhan. Japanese expert Daqu Guifu asked him three questions concerning TCM treatment of COVID-19.

Q1. Norio Ohmagari: Is the effect of TCM treatment mainly reflected in preventing mild patients from progressing into severe ones?

Zhang Boli: The patient's body temperature drops after a day or two after medication, the cough alliviates and the symptoms of fatigue improves. We particularly noticed that the number of lymphocytes in the patient's blood rises. All factors working together, the time for nucleic acid to turn negative shortens. It is very critical that the mild patients not progress into severe ones, and it is also the core indicator.

Q2. Norio Ohmagari: Is the prescription of TCM formulas personalized?

Zhang Boli: TCM is characterized by syndrome differentiation and treatment; one formula for one person. However, in this epidemic, the cause of the disease is the same and patients’ clinical manifestations are very similar. We ususally face hundreds of thousands of patients at the same time. Therefore, it is possible to prescribe a standard formula based on clinical practice, and we have achieved good results. For critically ill patients, the personalized syndrome differentiation and treatment should be implemented.

Q3. Norio Ohmagari: This time, TCM and western medicine work together to fight against the epidemic. Some patients used antibiotics and antiviral drugs. Did they also use TCM drugs?

Zhang Boli: In treating severe patients, emphasis is placed on integrated TCM and Western medicine consultation and treatment. Western medicine plays a major role in the treatment of severe illness. Respiratory and circulatory support are indispensable for maintaining life, which gives us the opportunity to use TCM. When treating patients, TCM and Western medicine collaborate harmoniously. If western medicine works better,then, it is used; if TCM works better, then, TCM is used. Antiviral drugs are used according to patients’ speicific conditions.

Three Factors Lead to an Increase in Confirmed Cases in Japan

Norio Ohmagari introduced the characteristics of the current epidemic in Japanese. At present, many COVID-19 cases come from abroad in Japan. In January, the cases coming from abroad caused a cluster of infections. From January till the present showed the trend of proliferation. In the last week, nosocomial infections occurred. The increased infections around hospitals surged in Tokyo. In addition, in the evenings, there were clustered infections in places like restaurants and cabarets. These phenomena lead to an increase of confirmed cases.

Norio Ohmagari said that Japan could not afford more confirmed case. Everyone should protect himself. Taking well-protected measures and not going to densely populated places are best ways to protect oneself . There were many cluster infections in Japan, because those patients ever went to densely populated places. It is recommended that people should not go to restaurants or concert halls. Japan has taken strict measures for a week, and number of confirmed patients will increase for another week. The effect of control will show in two weeks. He also said that many university professors were very interested in TCM treatment. The individual difference of the disease is very large. We thinks it may be better to use TCM to tailor the differences, and will consider using it in clinical treatment.

Not like SARS, COVID-19 Will not End Suddenly 

During the interview, Zhang Boli made judgments on the epidemic situation at home and abroad. In his view, the task at present is to prevent the coronovirus from re-entering the country to cause a new epidemic. In three days, Wuhan will remove strict controls, and whether a new epidemic will occur in Wuhan is the most concerned issue. Wuhan still need strict control. Although the ban will be removed and traffic will be resumed, some measures still need to take. Time for school opening and community activities must be strictly controlled. Some activities are allowed, but the scope should be limited, especially the crowd gathering should definitely be avoided. Being aware of this and taking effective measures, we are sure to prevent the epidemic from outbreak again.

He introduced that the overseas situation was grim and there were more and more cases travelling from abroad. Among the new cases, the vast majority are those from abroad. The risk cannot be removed and people should not taken it lightly. SARS ended in May at that time, but COVID-19 will not. India and Indonesia have high temperatures, but the virus is still spreading. Therefore, the epidemic will not end suddenly. He appeal everyone to pay attention to this, take those measures, and do a good job of self-protection.