Hydroxychloroquine may not be effective: Chinese study

Beijing: To treat people infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19), many, including the US President Donald Trump, have supported the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).

However, the antimalarial drug might not be effective in treating coronavirus (COVID-19), claims a Chinese study. Hydroxychloroquine is used to prevent and treat acute attacks of malaria. It is also used to treat discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis in patients whose symptoms have not improved with other treatments.

The anti-malarial drug has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a potential treatment for the coronavirus. For the findings, the researchers from china picked 150 hospitalised patients and conducted a randomised controlled trial at 16 government-designated COVID-19 treatment centres.