The malaria drug chloroquine for covid

COVID-19, a disease caused by infection with the new corona virus named SARS-CoV-2, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. As cases increase in various parts of the world, experts continue to carry out research to find out drugs and vaccinations that can cure COVID-19, one of which is chloroquine. Is it true that this drug is able to overcome this pandemic?

Get to know chloroquine, an antimalarial drug as a potential treatment for COVID-19

Chloroquine phosphate, or chloroquine phosphate, is a drug commonly used as a treatment for malaria, a parasitic disease. Plasmodium carried away by mosquito bites Anopheles. This anti-malarial drug is one of the many drugs that are being investigated for its effectiveness for the treatment of COVID-19.

Reporting from MedlinePlus, apart from being prescribed to treat and prevent malaria, chloroquine can also be used to treat amebiasis. Amebiasis is a parasitic infection that causes indigestion.

Chloroquine itself has long been known to have antiviral potential. In fact, this drug is currently under several studies to treat HIV.

Based on information from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, this drug contains compounds that help activate, enhance, or restore immune system function in people with HIV while interfering with the proliferation of the HIV virus in the human body.

The antiviral potential of chloroquine is based on its ability to change the acid-base balance in the cells of the human body, thus creating an unfavorable environment for viral development.

This ability has prompted experts to consider the effects of chloroquine as a COVID-19 drug.

COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData

1,012,350

Confirmed

820,356

Recovered

28,468

DeathDistribution Map

Research on the drug chloroquine is still ongoing

In the midst of the increasing incidence of COVID-19, chloroquine is included in several drugs that are being studied as an alternative treatment for this disease.

To date, there have been at least more than 10 clinical trials examining the effectiveness of chloroquine as a drug against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Most of the research on this drug as an antiviral has been done on animals, as well as on cells outside the human body (in vitro).

One of them is the latest research conducted by a group of researchers in China as reported in the journal Cell Research . The research looked at administering chloroquine in combination with the antiviral drug remdesivir.

As a result, the combination of the drugs chloroquine and remdesivir was proven to be effective in controlling the corona virus infection that causes COVID-19. Both drugs, especially chloroquine, exhibit antiviral effects and have the potential to improve the immune system of infected sufferers.

However, there has been no decision that has agreed on the effective dose of chloroquine in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Some studies recommend 600 mcg of chloroquine, and some recommend 150 mg for prevention. However, in principle, this cannot be determined with certainty.

The hope for the future is that chloroquine can be used as an inexpensive and easy-to-get option to reduce cases of COVID-19. Several countries have included chloroquine in protocols for handling this disease, from China, England, South Korea, to Qatar.

This drug is used as a cure for COVID-19 in these countries, as evidenced by the reduced length of stay for patients in the hospital. However, based on official guidelines from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, the drug chloroquine has not been registered as a specific anti-COVID-19 treatment.

Meanwhile, the side effects of chloroquine consumption for COVID-19 are not certain. Further research is still needed regarding the safety of this drug for patients with COVID-19.

However, the drug that has been discovered since decades ago has been clinically tested to be safe for consumption for patients suffering from malaria. WHO has also determined chloroquine as the safest and most effective drug in the list of essential drugs.

In addition to healing, can chloroquine be used as a medicine to prevent COVID-19?

Not only is it predicted as a healing drug, chloroquine is also being studied as a drug for the prevention of coronavirus infection, as well as reducing the risk of recurrence of COVID-19 in recovered patients.

A study currently being conducted by the University of Oxford is testing the use of the drug chloroquine to prevent COVID-19 in health facilities.

The research involved 10,000 medical workers as well as people who are at risk of being infected with the coronavirus. Later, participants will be given chloroquine or placebo (empty medicine) at random for 3 months, or until someone is infected with COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the effectiveness of chloroquine and remdesivir as prevention of COVID-19 is still uncertain.

COVID-19 is an infectious disease that was first discovered in Wuhan, China, in 2019. So far, the positive number of COVID-19 in Indonesia has reached 309 cases with a death rate of 25 people.