| An effective treatment for #Coronavirus #COVID-19 has been found in a common anti-malarial drug Encouraging news: three new medical studies show a commonly available anti-malaria drug known as chloroquine aka chloroquine phosphate is showing strong results against COVID-19 infections in both China and South Korea. Excerpts from three studies, including one published in Nature are below. |
Corona Virus Mortality in Italy:
Italy's National Health Authority reports that of 2500 corona-virus-linked deaths, 99% were of people with other illnesses: more than 75% had high blood pressure, about 35% had diabetes and a third suffered from heart disease. Moreover, as of March 17, 17 people under 50 had died from the disease. The average age of those who died was 79.5. All of which raises the question, is COVID19 any more hazardous than any other kind of flu. Based on these statistics, that seems doubtful. Although the numbers vary greatly from year to year, Italy has, in recent years, had an average of around 15,000 flu deaths per year.
Related:
Journal of Critical Care: A systematic review on the efficacy and safety of chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19
Bloomberg: 99% of Those Who Died From Virus Had Other Illness, Italy Says
Tech Startups: New academic study reveals over-the-counter anti-malaria med Chloroquine may be highly effective at treating coronavirus
Guardian: Japanese flu drug 'clearly effective' in treating coronavirus, says China
The Connexion: French researcher posts successful Covid-19 drug trial
Pharmaceutical Technology: UK bans parallel export and hoarding of three Covid-19 drugs
Prime PubMed: A systematic review on the efficacy and safety of chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19.
Prime PubMed: Expert consensus on chloroquine phosphate for the treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia
Int'l. J. Antimicrobial Agents: Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as available weapons to fight COVID-19
