COVID-19: French researcher confirms success in drug trial

France (19th Mar, 2020): French researcher, Professor Didier Raoult, reportedly completes successful drug trial for COVID-19.

According to reports, the renowned researcher has reported successful results for his latest research pertaining to treatment of COVID-19 infection. Reportedly, his early tests have provided evidence that there is a possibility to contain the virus in six days.

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Professor Raoult of the l’Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) Méditerranée Infection in Marseille reportedly published a video to explain the trials conducted by him and his team. Professor Raoult, who is a specialist for infectious diseases and Head of the IHU Méditerranée Infection, in consultation with the French government allegedly researched possible treatments for COVID-19 and discovered that patients can be treated within six days of infection.

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According to reports, he stated that the first COVID-19 patients he had treated had seen a rapid recovery following the consumption of the drug, chloroquine. Raoult added that the team observed a “sharp” decline in the time it took for the infection to further damage the respiratory systems in the patients, as well as the time they remained contagious.

Chloroquine, is primarily known to treat and/or prevent malarial infections, however, administered to patients through the Plaquenil drug, it showed immediate effects. As per sources of French news agency, The Connexion, patients were given approximately 600 mcg of the drug for almost ten days and monitored to observe changes in their health because the drug upon interaction with other medicines can lead to extreme side effects.

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The French Professor has stated that all patients willing to be treated were included in the trial, “which was almost everyone”. He added that the patients who had yet to receive treatment, were brought in from Nice and Avignon, for the drug trials as well.

Raoult argued that the team were able to discover that patients who were not given the Plaquenil drug remained contagious after a period of six days, however, the study participants who had received the drug were remarkably recovered with only twenty-five percent contagious, respectively. It was further added that Chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine, have both been used to treat Coronavirus patients in China, where the virus initiated in late 2019, during China’s clinical trials concerning COVID-19.

US-based antiviral drug, namely Kaletra although originally used to treat HIV is similarly being tested to treat Coronavirus, COVID-19. In addition to this, a recent study published by researchers in the United States concur with the results of the French researcher. According to reports, they have reiterated that the use of chloroquine was effective for treatment of COVID-19. The US researchers stated that the use of the chloroquine tablet has shown “favorable outcomes in humans infected with Coronavirus including faster time to recover and shorter hospital stay”, respectively.

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They added that research has shown that the chloroquine has the potential to work as a “prophylactic” [preventative] against Coronavirus in the laboratory environment, while work is underway to come up with a potent vaccine to cure COVID-19. They further stressed that chloroquine is an easily accessible drug worldwide and may be prescribed to adults and/or children alike. Moreover, they confirmed that chloroquine can also be prescribed for pregnant women as well as nursing mothers, as it has been previously used to treat various viral infections and/or diseases, such as:

Malaria
Amoebiosis
Autoimmune diseases
HIV

Although the French trials come as a source of relief for many, researchers continue to work on the development of a vaccine to specifically fight against COVID-19. Meanwhile, no country and/or health organization including the World Health Organization (WHO) has so far published an official treatment measures against the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19. However, China and South Korea have allegedly issued guidelines for the proper use of chloroquine as an “effective treatment” according to the study report.

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Furthermore, the French government has reportedly issued health advice to help the public in fighting against the spread of the novel Coronavirus. This list reportedly includes the following instructions:

Telling people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary,
To maintain appropriate distance between oneself and others,
Frequently washing of hands as well as using sanitisers to ensure cleanliness,
To cover mouth with elbows rather than hands,
To keep single-use tissues and dispose immediately,
In case a person is sick, everyone in the household should self-quarantine and avoid out-doors activities.