British researchers on Thursday start taking part in the international trial of anti-malarial drugs on healthcare workers led by the University of Oxford to assess the effect of drugs on covid-19. US President is already using these drugs to prevent the virus.
Anti-malarial drugs like chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or placebo will be tested on 40,000 frontline healthcare workers from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America to know in how much extent these drugs could be useful in preventing novel coronavirus.
Hydroxychloroquine is in great demand after Donald Trump has recommended its use in America.
The University of Oxford with the help of Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) in Bangkok opened the trial on British participants at hospital sites in Brighton and Oxford on Thursday involving healthcare workers who are at risk due to being in contact with covid-19 patients.
The University of Oxford’s Professor Nicholas White said, “We really do not know if chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are beneficial or harmful against covid-19. The best way to find out if they are effective in preventing covid-19 is in a randomised clinical trial.”
The study revealed that hydroxychloroquine might be proved effective in containing covid-19 but still there is no concrete proof. US regulators have advised applying the hydroxychloroquine in case of emergency on covid-19 patients but FDA has warned of its use outside the hospital that can cause serious heart rhythm problems.
