A health supplement that may protect against Covid-19 has become so sought after in Rome that many pharmacies have run out, according to Italy’s .

Lactoferrin is a protein found in cow's milk and in high concentrates in human breast milk. It has been suspected for some time that it may protect against infections from bacteria, viruses and fungi, but in March this year Professor Elena Campione, Professor of Dermatology at Rome’s University of Tor Vergata, began a study to see if lactoferrin supplements could protect against Covid-19. Her team administered a lactoferrin-based supplement to around a hundred Covid-19 positive patients who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms. The were published in July by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. According to Prof. Campione, “the supplement reduces the chances of contracting the virus and, for those already positive, shortens the length of its presence in the body.”

The news received some  in Italy, but it was not until a second team, led by Professor Piera Valenti, Professor of Microbiology at Rome’s La Sapienza University, verified the quality, purity and integrity of the lactoferrin used and showed that it inhibited infection with Sars-Cov-2 that news began to spread. Soon, many of Rome’s GPs were giving it to their patients. "I have been prescribing C-band supplements, which contain several substances useful for the immune system, including lactoferrin, for some weeks,” one GP told La Repubblica.

Prof. Campione and her team are currently completing the second stage of the study to confirm the effectiveness of the molecule. They hope to publish shortly. This is a small-scale study and its methodology has been . It is too early to rush to your nearest pharmacy for the latest "magic bullet". However, if confirmed, the Tor Vegata team could have provided a vital weapon in the arsenal against this insidious disease.