Hungarian discoveries, developments, and patents to fight the coronavirus

Humanity had to face several global pandemics throughout history, but never one that instantly and globally mobilised the scientific world and its most creative minds. This huge shock gave life to and boosted the development of, as well as illuminated, many health technological developments. Forbes made a list of the most promising discoveries, developments, and patents that Hungarians worked on and of which even Ignác Semmelweis would be proud. We chose some from their list.

Fluvoxamine therapy – developed by: Semmelweis University, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, SigmaDrugs

Covid-19 attacks our body in two ways: it enhances the already existing underlying illnesses and provokes an exaggerated immune reaction. The reason for the latter is the so-called cytokine storm (cytokines are a category of small proteins important in cell signalling). It can cause severe pneumonia and damage several organs. Fluvoxamine enters the equation here: in the acute phase of pneumonia, it blocks this cytokine storm by decreasing the production of agents causing the inflammation. Apart from this, it moderates the formation of scar-tissues caused by pneumonia, so a smaller surface of the lungs would be damaged, meaning that it leaves a bigger surface of the organ able to breathe.

Virus Contact application – developed by Visual Cortex Kft.

If someone tests positive, the first step is to notify those with whom they have been in contact, but apart from our family, friends, and colleagues, the others are trickier to be reached and alerted. The Hungarian-developed application helps exactly in this broader contact search. It notes and compares the users’ data of location, the physical distances between them, and for how long they have been at that specific location. It uses Bluetooth Low Energy technology to search for users of the app who were in a 10m radius of another user. If the device finds someone within this distance, it stores the place of contact, the time, and the estimated duration and distance. In the case of a previous contact testing positive within the 14 days of incubation time, the app sends an anonymous notification. The app is free and developed with an open-source code on a voluntary basis, meaning that it will not be working with an official database.