ExplainerChloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine: No Proof These Anti-Malarial Drugs Prevent Novel Coronavirus in Humans
There’s worrying news around the world of people self-medicating at home with the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. Chloroquine is not yet proven to work against COVID-19, though news reports originating in China have speculated otherwise. But theories about chloroquine and COVID-19 have spread around the world, despite a lack of hard evidence about the value of chloroquine in preventing or treating COVID-19. No one should be self-treating with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 as there is currently no proof they can cure the infection – and accidental harm is more likely if they are used in this way.
There’s worrying news around the world of people self-medicating at home with the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. There’s since been reports of chloroquine poisoning and even death after taking the drug. Scientists first reported chloroquine’s potential against coronaviruses after the SARS epidemic in 2003.
Part of the recent confusion seems to have followed U.S. president Donald Trump’s announcement on Twitter that implied hydroxychloroquine and another drug (the antibiotic azithromycin) taken together could treat novel coronavirus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a statement in response, saying they’re still looking into whether chloroquine can treat people with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. Neither of these drugs have been approved in the United States to treat COVID-19. Tests are still being conducted elsewhere, including in China, to see whether they can help treat patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.
Chloroquine has been around for more than 80 years. It was developed as an antimalarial drug but is now also used to treat conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and systemic and discoid lupus erythematosus (lupus). It was produced to provide another treatment option to quinine, an older antimalarial drug which came from the bark of cinchona trees.
Hydroxychloroquine, which has been around since 1955, is similar to chloroquine but less toxic. But it does have some side effects, including stomach problems and long-term problems for the eyes. Like chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, and is also used for managing sun allergies.
Chloroquine has been used to treat malaria for many years, but it stopped working against malaria caused by the Plasmodium Falciparum parasite which is common in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite this, chloroquine is still available to buy in Nigeria where people have starting taking it for COVID-19 – leading to reports of accidental poisonings.
The seriousness of the problem has led the Nigeria Center for Disease Control to announce on Twitter that chloroquine is not approved for COVID-19 and that self-medicating with the drug will cause harm – and could lead to death.
Chloroquine is not yet proven to work against COVID-19, though news reports originating in China have speculated otherwise. Scientists have asked Chinese researchers to share details of their findings.
But theories about chloroquine and COVID-19 have spread around the world, despite a lack of hard evidence about the value of chloroquine in preventing or treating COVID-19. Although chloroquine has been used for more than 80 years, it’s still far from safe if used without medical advice.
First, it’s really easy to get the dose of chloroquine wrong and end
