Experts from Chinaโs Ministry of Science and Technology have confirmed the potency of Chloroquine on the treatment of Covid-19 infections.
This is based on the results of Clinical Trials which confirms that Chloroquine Phosphate primarily used in the treatment of Malaria has some curative effect on the Covid-19 disease currently ravaging the globe.
According to a report by Chinese news agency, Xinhua, medical experts have jointly suggested that Chloroquine be included in the treatment guidelines for Covid-19. They also advocated that the drug be applied in wider clinical trials as soon as possible.
According to the Deputy head of the China National Centre for Biotechnology Development which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Sun Yanrong who spoke at a press conference, Choloroquine has been in use for more than 70 years and was selected from thousands of other drugs after multiple tests and screening.
She said Chloroquine has been under clinical trials in over 10 hospitals across China with promising results.
The patients on which the drug was tested showed better indicators that other Covid-19 patients not treated with Chloroquine.
Usage of the drug resulted in the abatement of fever and the improvement of CT images of the lungs.
She said further that patients who took Chloroquine recovered faster than other patients.
For emphasis, Sun gave an example of a 50 yr old patient in Beijing, admitted four days after showing Covid-19 symptoms.
All the indicators of the patient improved while the nucleic acid in the system turned negative after taking the Chloroquine for one week.
She pointed out that no serious adverse effects related to the usage of the drug have been recorded so far among 100 patients who took part in the clinical trials.
Several departments involved in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in China including the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Health Commission as well as the National Medical Products Administration called a video conference to listen to the opinion of experts on the efficacy of Chloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19.
The group of experts led by Zhong Bandhan, a well known respiratory specialist and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering confirmed that the drug can be used to treat more Covid-19 cases.
According to Sun Yanrong;
Previous in vitro experiments showed that it can block virus infections by changing the acidity and basicity value inside the cell and interfering receptors of SARS coronavirus.
It also shows immune-modulating activity, which may enhance its antiviral effect in vivo and is widely distributed in the whole body, including the lungs, after oral administration.
