ICMR Recommends Use hydroxychloroquine for high-risk COVID-19 cases

The National Task Force for the novel coronavirus constituted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recommended the utilization of hydroxychloroquine for high-risk cases.

However, ICMR Director-General Balram Bhargava said on Monday during a news conference , “Hydroxychloroquine is suggested just for a healthcare worker who is treating a COVID-19 patient. Secondly, it’s recommended just for persons staying with and caring for a household patient who has been tested positive. they will take that just for prophylaxis — just for prevention.”

Also, as per an advisory on the health ministry’s website, this only applies to healthcare workers and caregivers who are asymptomatic.

The advisory, however, cautions that the usage of the drugs shouldn’t instill a “false sense of security”, which people using it should still public health measures like using protective equipment (such as masks), frequent washing of hands and keeping a distance of a minimum of one metre from the patient.

The ICMR has not recommended the drug for youngsters below 15 years aged .

What is hydroxychloroquine?
Hydroxychloroquine has been recommended for prophylaxis (prevention of specific diseases) against the novel coronavirus. consistent with the health ministry’s advisory, it’s been proven effective against the novel coronavirus in laboratory tests and in-vivo studies (tests conducted on living organisms).

Hydroxychloroquine is an oral prescription that’s primarily wont to treat some sorts of malaria. However, some recent studies have indicated that it’s going to even be useful to treat COVID-19. On 9 March, a study within the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal within the us found that it had been effective against the novel coronavirus.

On Sunday, Jordan authorised physicians to use hydroxychloroquine along side an antiviral medicine as a treatment for COVID-19 in patients in a complicated stage of the disease, Al-Jazeera reported.

US president Donald Trump has also said that the drugs (along with another medicine named chloroquine) may be a game-changer and has shown “very, very encouraging results”. However, the top of the US’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci has said that evidence of hydroxychloroquine’s efficacy against COVID-19 is “anecdotal.”

“It (testing) wasn’t wiped out a controlled clinical test , so you actually can’t make any definitive statement about it,” Fauci was quoted as saying within the Washington Post.

This articale taken refrence from firstpost