COVID-19: Nigerians ‘hunt’ for choloroquine
• As NCDC, medical experts warn against health implications As the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continue to rise in the country and globally, many Nigerians are into panic buying of chloroquine tablets, a drug used for treating malaria, and hand sanitizers. This has made the two commodities scarce in some areas. Some […]
choloroquine
• As NCDC, medical experts warn against health implications
As the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continue to rise in the country and globally, many Nigerians are into panic buying of chloroquine tablets, a drug used for treating malaria, and hand sanitizers. This has made the two commodities scarce in some areas.
Some people have begun taking chloroquine as a prevention strategy with some cases of poisoning recorded, while others are storing them for use in case they got infected.
Findings by Daily Trust yesterday revealed that many Nigerians have continued to move from one pharmacy and patent medicine store to another in search of the malaria drug and hand sanitisers. A patent medicine vendor in Abuja, who craved anonymity, said he sold many packs in the last few days that he ran out of stock.
Nigeria had some years ago banned chloroquine for malaria treatment. The National Council on Health banned monotherapies like chloroquine for the treatment of malaria because they were not effective and usually led to resistance. Malaria monotherapy treatment includes the use of a single medication or drug.
The council approved Artemisinin based Combination Therapy (ACTs) for treatment for malaria in Nigeria. The medicine had therefore gone off the stores and pharmacies but could occasionally be found in some patent medicine shops or in rural areas that flout the ban.
Daily Trust learnt that many Nigerians grew interested in purchasing chloroquine following reports on ongoing clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment. It grew to panic buying since Thursday last week following the speech of President Donald Trump of the United States of America on the efficacy of chloroquine.
For instance in Lagos, the demand for chloroquine soared a few hours after Trump said the drug had been approved to treat COVID-19.
Trump had during a news briefing at the White House said chloroquine was now essentially approved for prescribed use.
He said: “It’s shown very encouraging — very, very encouraging early results. And we’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately. And that’s where the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been so great. They gone through the approval process; it’s been approved. They did it; they took it down from many, many months to immediate. So we’re going to be able to make that drug available by prescription or states.
“And I think it’s going to be very exciting. I think it could be a game changer. And maybe not. Maybe not, but I think it could be, based on what I see, it could be a game changer. Very powerful, they’re very powerful.”
In spite of the fact that a lot of fact checks have revealed that Trump erred in saying the US FDA has approved chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, many Nigerians have been sharing the news and video amongst themselves and rushing to buy the drug.
“There are no FDA approved therapeutics or drugs to treat, cure or prevent covid-19.”
Some have been putting calls to each other asking how many packs they should store for COVID-19 and what dosage they can take before infection to prevent it or to get cured in case they got infected.
While the medicines are being used in clinical trials and in some experimental use, the FDA has not officially endorsed them as safe and effective against COVID-19.
“I decided to buy some packs and keep in case the infection gets out of control and the drugs become scarce for treatment,” A mother of two told Daily Trust at a shop in Abuja.
“But I wouldn’t drink it yet because I don’t know the dose that cures coronavirus,” she added.
A Lagos resident, Mayowa Tijani recounted, “I went to a pharmacy in Lagos, where I saw people buying five, six sachets of chloroquine at once. Remember, chloroquine was banned in Nigeria in 2005 based on WHO recommendation. That it still sells in Nigeria is quite the Nigerian story.”
When our correspondent visited a pharmacy in Idimu, the pharmacist said chloroquine was not available as it has been sold out. Though many of those who still sell have suddenly increased the price to N500 or more, it was gathered that the price was N150.
On Friday, a pharmacist in Lagos said, “I had about 20 packs of chloroquine left and all finished this evening. In fact, only one person bought 15 packs. He said he would return tomorrow when I have more. Please, what is happening? Why are people buying chloroquine?”
A few hours later, the Lagos State government, through the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Health, Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih, was quoted as saying that some hospitals in the state were now treating patients who took too many tablets of chloroquine, leading to poisoning.
Dr Finnih urged people against massive consumption of chloroquine as a measure to fight coronavirus.
She said, “Chloroquine is still in a testing phase in combination with other medication and not yet verified as a preventive treatment or curative option.”
The Ministry of Health has said that massive consumption of chloroquine in the hope of curing coronavirus is turning into another disaster.
According to Dr Finnih, there is a lot of unverified information in circulation about the pandemic, and cautioned that it was important for people to be sure of their facts before taking any medication.
The Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof Akin Abayomi, advised the public against indiscriminate use of chloroquine to prevent coronavirus disease, COVID-19, saying chloroquine has significant side effects and should not be used without medical supervision as it may cause more harm.
He said, “We do not have any hard evidence that chloroquine is effective in preventing or managing COVID-19. We are watching the global research space to clearly define its efficiency in COVID19.”
The commissioner stressed that the use of chloroquine, has not yet been determined as an effective treatment for coronavirus disease, adding that the state was still watching the global research space to clearly define the efficiency of the drug in the control of the disease.
Abayomi said the state government would be conducting clinical trial on the effectiveness of chloroquine in the prevention or management of COVID-19 infection.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it has approved the production of chloroquine for clinical trials on COVID19.
Director-General of the agency, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, on Friday said that NAFDAC was not approving Chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 but for clinical trials to find treatment for the virus.
“Therefore the medicine is being approved just for the clinical trials,” Adeyeye said
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Friday warned against the use of chloroquine. It said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not approved chloroquine for COVID-19 management, adding that “scientists are working hard to confirm the safety of several drugs for this disease. Please do not engage in self-medication. This will cause harm and can lead to death.”
Tips to protect yourself from COVID-19
- Wash your hands frequently with soap under running water or use an alcohol-based sanitiser
- Cough/sneeze into tissue and dispose properly or cough/sneeze into your elbow
- Avoid large gatherings and physical contact
- Clean all surfaces frequently with disinfectants
- Get information only from official sources
- If you return from international travel, self-isolate for 14 days and if you develop symptoms, call NCDC’s toll free number: 080097000010
- Preventing COVID-19 spread requires a whole-of-society approach and our call is for all Nigerians to #TakeResponsibility for our health.
Source: NCDC