Coronavirus trials for hydroxychloroquine to resume: WHO

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation has reinitiated the clinical trial for the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a plausible cure for the coronavirus.

Earlier this week, the use of the drug was opposed by WHO based on safety issues related to it and its impact on COVID-19 positive patients. The decision was taken as a precautionary measure while the safety data were reviewed. Some studies had suggested that those taking the drug were at a higher risk of dying than those who were not. The premier health organisation would be conducting a global trial which would test more than 3500 patients hfrom 35 countries including India. The data safety and monitoring committee of the WHO will closely monitor their safety.

According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO, all available mortality data about hydroxychloroquine had been examined by the WHO’s safety monitoring committee for the global trial following which the members of the committee found that no reason to alter the trial protocol.

Based on mortality data, the executive group, which had been running the trials, recommended and backed the continuation of all arms of the trial, including hydroxychloroquine.

The potential of the drug has also been identified by a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently. The study showed that a single dose can’t reduce the risk but at least four or more maintenance doses of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) can inhibit the virus to do any further damage to the infected. ICMR collected 751 samples of health workers during the first week of April 2020 and at the end of the first week of May 2020 for COVID-19, which were divided for cases and control subjects of the study.

About 378 symptomatic workers, who tested positive for the disease, were included in the case group while the other 373 health care workers, who tested negative, were in the control group. Further, the results of the study showed that 172 cases and 193 had no significant drug reaction after taking HCQ. However, side effects from the consumption of the drug-like nausea (8 per cent), headache (5 per cent), and diarrhoea (4 per cent) were seen in the patients. 0.6 per cent of the patients also complained of gastrointestinal symptoms.