Nebraska doctors treat quarantined coronavirus patients with chicken soup and Tylenol

Several reports have detailed how coronavirus patients are being treated with oxygen, HIV drugs and Ebola medication.

But, in additional to medical care, doctors at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) are providing the ill men and women with comforts from home such as soup and pain relievers as ‘supportive care.’

The practice focuses on improving the quality of life and alleviating the suffering of those battling serious diseases.

Specifically, the team at UNMC told DailyMail.com that patients are being given chicken soup to eat and medications that reduce fever and help them feel more comfortable including Tylenol and Motrin.

Doctors say it is about providing ‘loving care’ to the patients so they feel they are being taken care of by a loved one.

Patients under quarantine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (pictured) are being provided with comforts from home such as Tylenol and chicken soup 

The medical team says they are practicing supportive care, which focuses on improving the quality of life of patients with serious illnesses. Pictured: One of the quarantine rooms at UNMC, courtesy of KETV

The medical team says they are practicing supportive care, which focuses on improving the quality of life of patients with serious illnesses. Pictured: One of the quarantine rooms at UNMC, courtesy of KETV

‘We’ve called it the “chicken soup phase” of treatment, giving them some symptomatic relief,’ Dr Mark Rupp, the chief of UNMC’s division of infectious diseases, told DailyMail.com.

‘What we learned from the Ebola outbreak, is that the mortality rate is much higher in west Africa than in places with supportive care. We’ve tried to make this a comfortable setting for folks.’ 

Studies have shown that the ingredients in chicken soup – including chicken, carrots, garlic and water – provide the body with vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system and help fight digestion. 

Additionally, chicken is high in the amino acid tryptophan, which helps create serotonin, the neurotransmitter that elevates mood – making chicken soup feel like a comfort food. 

It’s also a stark contrast from many of the quarantined patients in others areas who say they’ve not been given enough to eat and are barely interacted with.

The patients in Nebraska were once passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which went under a 14-day quarantine in Japan starting February 5 after someone who disembarked in Hong Kong came down with the coronavirus four days after leaving.

Twelve days into the quarantine, more than 300 Americans – including 14 of whom had tested positive for the virus – were evacuated back to the US.

After they arrived in either Texas or California, 13 ‘high-risk’ patients, who had either tested positive or were likely to test positive, were transferred to UNMC.

They are currently staying at the federal quarantine center on campus, which has 20 rooms.

Dr Rupp says that all of the patients are in their own rooms, all of which contain exercise equipment and comforts such as TV and WiFi.

‘It’s pretty Spartan. You know, it’s not a palatial hotel, but adequate for them to be comfortable,’ he said.

On Monday, one of the 13 new patients was transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit after he complained of a cough and lightheadedness. 

Twelve of the patients are in the federal quarantine center on campus, which has comforts such as TV and WiFi. Pictured: One of the quarantine rooms at UNMC, courtesy of KETV

Twelve of the patients are in the federal quarantine center on campus, which has comforts such as TV and WiFi. Pictured: One of the quarantine rooms at UNMC, courtesy of KETV

One of the 13 patients was transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, which was used to treat three Ebola patients in 2014. Pictured: An Air Force member tests out the bio containment unit

One of the 13 patients was transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, which was used to treat three Ebola patients in 2014. Pictured: An Air Force member tests out the bio containment unit

UNMC has one of three known biocontainment units, which was commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2005.  

In 2014, UNMC used the biocontainment unit to treat three patients with Ebola. 

Dr Rupp explained the unit contains airlocks and negative pressure isolation.

‘This means all air in the patient room gets put through special filters before being exhausted,’ he said.

‘We’re taking care that the respiratory illness stays put.’

Local officials said that person who is in the unit currently also has a chronic health condition, but did not specify what sort. 

One Nebraska patient, Jeri Goldman, says her husband, Carl, is that patient and the condition he has is Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder. 

More than 75,000 people worldwide have been infected with coronavirus, including 15 in the US, and 2,000 people have died.

Nebraska Medicine notes that while this virus is far more infectious than the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS, coronavirus is much less fatal. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk