Havana city, Cuba.- Cuba will start administering Nasalferon, a drug produced by the country’s biotechnology industry, to travelers and their relatives in order to prevent the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and strengthen their immune system.

As reported in a session of the Provincial Defense Council of Havana, this medicine will be administered initially in the municipalities of Boyeros and Diez de Octubre, and will be extended gradually to the rest of the capital.

The director of Science and Technological Innovation at the Ministry of Public Health, Ileana Morales, explained that a drop will be administered nasally in the morning and another one at night for a period of five to ten days.

Morales pointed out that the traveler’s cohabitants must begin the treatment three days before their arrival at their home.

Nasalferon is a recombinant human IFN-alpha-2b-formulation for nasal administration that, thanks to the immunomodulatory and antiviral properties of IFN-alpha, protects people against exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Specialists claim that it prevents the replication of the virus and modifies the number of colonies present in the body.

It also strengthens the immune system and ensures that if the person is infected with the pathogen, they will not develop severe symptoms, experts added.

Data from the Cuban Academy of Sciences indicate that until August 17, 241 health workers and 1,010 vulnerable people (elderly and those suffering from comorbidities or from indirect exposure to the virus) had been treated with this drug.