Chloroquine has been used for hundred of years to treat malaria. The medicine has shown early promise against the COVID-19 illness in early studies in France and China, which led US President Donald Trump a “gift from God.” China used Chloroquine on a trial of 134 patients in February, finding it was effective in lessening the severity of the illness. In France, a team led by Didier Raoult of the IHU-Mediterranean Infection, Marseille reported past week they had carried out a study on 36 COVID-19 patients, discovering that HCQ significantly reduced the necessary load in a group which received the drug. The effects were particularly noticeable when it was used with azithromycin, a common antibiotic used to wipe out secondary bacterial infections. A small Chinese study on 30 patients that was made public this month found HCQ was no superior than regular care – meaning treating the indication through bed rest, fluids and so on. Another problem is that people may try to self-medicate. A US man from Arizona died this week after swelling a form of chloroquine intended to battle aquatic parasites. Many countries have now started on clinical trials, comprising the United States, where one began in New York this week. Italy is carrying out a trial on 2,000 people, on the other hand scientists are also awaiting the results from bigger attempts in China. The United States Food and Drugs Administration which is in charge of licensing drugs, clarified the situation, saying it has not approved chloroquine or, any drugs at all to wipe out COVID-19.Scientists are looking at existing drugs that have been used to treat similar viruses in the past such as Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome and serious acute respiratory syndrome. Chloroquine, which has long been used to treat malaria, is one of the drugs presently being studied. It is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Corona viruses on animals have so far proved ineffective. Further drug being looked into is Remdesivir, which was used during the Ebola epidemic without much success. This drug is designed to slow down the infection of healthy cells by blocking viral replication. A case report published in The New England Journal of Medicine described how the first patient with COVID-19 in the US – a young man – showed substantial improvement in his symptoms within hours of taking the drug, as did a gravely ill patient in California. World Health Organization has urged warning until more trial data is available. We are expecting on the world’s scientists to come up with treatment but also a vaccine. For the being we must use the rules about hygiene, self-isolation and social distancing.
Lack of the drug is putting at risks patients who need it for lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. India, a larger producer, has banned exports, and some doctors are hoarding both drugs by writing prescriptions for themselves or family members. Deaths in Nigeria among people self-treating for obvious COVID-19 were due to chloroquine overdoses, and an Arizona man trying to prevent COVID-19 infection died after reportedly self-medicating with a toxic form of chloroquine used to clean fish tanks. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a faithful Trump ally, ordered that nation’s military labs to accelerate production of chloroquine. Although doctors regard hydroxychloroquine as comparatively prescribed doses for short periods, it has been linked with life- menacing cardiac side effects and suicidal behavior. Many major pharma companies announced production of nearly 200 million doses of the two drugs in approaching to struggle with the pandemic. FDA approved against malarial drugs that have been in use for many years. Chloroquine was initially developed in 1934 at the pharmaceutical company Bayer and used in World War II to escape malaria. Despite the fact that the FDA has not approved its use for these conditions, both chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. After the original outbreak of MERS in 2012, scientists conducted irregular screens of thousands of approved drugs to one that might block MERS infection. Several drugs, including chloroquine, showed the ability to block coronaviruses from infecting cells in vitro. But these drugs were not extensively pursued because ultimately they did not show enough activity to be judged further. A number of labs around the world are now examining these drugs and testing them in clinical trials in the U.S., France and China. There is no agreement about whether the drugs are safe and effective for treating COVID-19, as it is still in the testing procedure. Therefore no one should take a drug that has not been proven to be safe and effective for a disease or condition for which it is not approved.