“Recent guidelines from South Korea and China report that chloroquine is an effective antiviral therapeutic treatment against Coronavirus Disease 2019. Use of chloroquine (tablets) is showing favorable outcomes in humans infected with Coronavirus including faster time to recovery and shorter hospital stay.”
“US CDC research shows that chloroquine also has strong potential as a prophylactic (preventative) measure against coronavirus in the lab, while we wait for a vaccine to be developed. Chloroquine is an inexpensive, globally available drug that has been in widespread human use since 1945 against malaria, autoimmune and various other conditions. “
That’s the summary statement from a Paper released by James M. Todaro, MD (Columbia MD, jtodaro2@gmail.com) and Gregory J. Rigano, Esq. (grigano1@jhu.edu) in consultation with Stanford University School of Medicine, UAB School of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences researchers.
Chloroquine is used for Malaria but has proven useful, at least according to this report, in limiting the likelihood of infection and in aiding aa quicker recovery.
As noted in the summary statement the treatment has been in use in China and South Korea with some success. Both countries have issued guidelines on if and when to use it – primarily in those who are sick for a long stretch or for the elderly. In its absence (if unavailable) they suggest hydroxychloroquine.
The US CDC has also reported that according to its own research,
“…chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS coronavirus, both prophylactically and therapeutically. SARS coronavirus has significant similarities to COVID-19. Specifically, the CDC research was completed in primate cells using chloroquine’s well known function of elevating endosomal pH. The results show that “We have identified chloroquine as an effective antiviral agent for SARS-CoV in cell culture conditions, as evidenced by its inhibitory effect when the drug was added prior to infection or after the initiation and establishment of infection. The fact that chloroquine exerts an antiviral effect during pre- and post-infection conditions suggest that it is likely to have both prophylactic and therapeutic advantages.”
The study shows that chloroquine is effective in preventing SARS-CoV infection in cell culture if the drug is added to the cells 24 h prior to infection.”
Good news. And as noted above, chloroquine is inexpensive, widely available, and used on human beings for 75 years.
If you’d like to geek out on this the paper can be found here.
