Prevention，Treatment，and Recuperation of Infection with SARS-CoV-2 Variants by Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Idea of Epidemic Prevention of Jiangnan Medical School

ABSTRACT

Because of the frequent occurrence of epidemics in Jiangnan since ancient times，the local medical schools have accumulated rich experience in epidemic prevention，among which Yushan medical school，Wumen medical school，and Qiantang medical school are famous. The physicians have inherited the theory in Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases and developed the therapies for febrile diseases. Adhering to the idea of integrating cold and febrile diseases，the physicians in Jiangnan flexibly adapt ZHANG Zhongjing's theory by combining regional climate，patient physique and other factors to explain the pathogenesis，which is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of epidemics. Therefore，traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） has demonstrated good curative effect on coronavirus disease-2019（COVID-19）in China. However，the SARS-CoV-2 variants（Delta and Omicron）characterized by strong infectivity，pathogenicity，and immune escape capacity keep emerging，which bring great challenges to the global prevention and control of this pandemic. To this end，we studied the ways of Jiangnan medical school for the prevention and treatment of epidemics， reviewed the evolution of TCM treatment protocols for COVID-19，and summarized China's experience in fighting against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Further，we explored the measures of TCM in treating SARS-CoV-2 variants from prevention，treatment，and rehabilitation according to the theory for epidemic prevention of Jiangnan medical school. This paper provides reference for the prevention and treatment of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant and facilitates the development of TCM epidemiology. © 2022, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Institute of Chinese Materia Medica. All rights reserved.