The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, have surpassed 5 million cases globally. Current models suggest that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) will have a similar incidence but substantially lower mortality rate than high-income countries. However, malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are prevalent in LMICs, and coinfections are likely.
As COVID -19 continues to dominate the health and political agendas in so many countries around the world, so does its devastating impact on other diseases become apparent. Malaria is just one of these.
Clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for the treatment of coronavirus infection-2019 (COVID-19) are moving forward on the heels of conflicting, and sometimes controversial, observational studies out of China and France from the first months of the pandemic.
The SARS‐Cov‐2 viral pandemic causing COVID‐19 disease begs for rapid and innovative treatments. In addition to flu‐like respiratory symptoms, acute cardiac manifestations include cardiac injury, shock and arrhythmia. Several pharmacological therapies have been suggested including repurposing of existing drugs such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, sometimes co‐administered with azithromycin. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine were developed in the World War II era for treatment and prophylaxis of malaria, long before modern drug safety surveillance programs.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged healthcare systems around the world. Unfortunately, failure has ensued: high-income countries have succumbed to the global emergency despite highly prepared human and technological assets. There is no current consensus on pharmacological management of COVID-19, but chloroquine phosphate (CQ) has emerged as a possible therapeutical candidate.
Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with a second-generation macrolide, are being widely used for treatment of COVID-19, despite no conclusive evidence of their benefit. Although generally safe when used for approved indications such as autoimmune disease or malaria, the safety and benefit of these treatment regimens are poorly evaluated in COVID-19.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an old medication for malaria. In addition to handling this parasitic disease, HCQ is also used to treat a number of autoimmune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus when other medications are not effective. Recently a new viral infection (COVID-19) is rocking the entire world so much that it has already taken more than 200,000 lives throughout the world within the last two months and the World Health Organization was forced to declare it as a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug being tested as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2( (SARS‐CoV‐2. Although the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine for COVID‐19 remains uncertain, it may serve as a potential prophylactic agent especially in those at high risk, such as healthcare workers, household contacts of infected patients, and the immunocompromised.
The unprecedented global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread to all continents (WHO, 2020a). Whilst spread to Africa has been slow, there are now increasing numbers of COVID-19 being reported from African countries who are preparing themselves (Kapata et al., 2020) for an exponential rise in numbers of cases. As of 24th March 2020, there have been 372,757 confirmed COVIDD-19 cases reported to the WHO with 16,231 deaths. In Africa there have been 1305 cases with 25 deaths reported from 33 countries (WHO, 2020b).
Deaths from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa could return to levels last seen 20 years ago because of severe disruptions in access to nets and medicines during the covid-19 pandemic, a new modelling analysis has shown.
