Maduro: Venezuela has found possible Covid treatment

President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has asserted that the country's scientists have found a possible treatment for COVID-19, although he offered little immediate evidence to support his claim.

Maduro referred to a chemical that he said had shown benefit in a six-month study, but it was unclear exactly what the research entailed. His science and technology minister says the substance was derived from a plant and worked well in a lab test.

Researchers around the world are trying to find possible treatments by testing them against the coronavirus in a lab. Many substances have killed the coronavirus in test tubes but have not proved safe or effective in people.

It's unclear whether Venezuelan scientists have tested the substance in people yet. Drugs typically go through several rounds of testing in people before they can be widely distributed. Such work can take years.

Doses used in lab studies often prove intolerable for human consumption. For example, many deadly viruses such as the one that causes AIDS can be killed easily in the lab but those treatments are not necessarily safe for people.

Maduro said the findings would be shared with the World Health Organization. A representative for the agency's Pan American Health Organization says Venezuela hasn't shared any information on the substance.

(Image Credit: AP)