Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine Not Proven Treatment of Covid-19-Fake News

AFP – Two videos shared hundreds of times on Facebook claim Kenyan doctors that two drugs (ivermectin itself and hydroxychloroquine in combination with zinc and azithromycin) are effective in treating Covid-19 doing. But the claim is wrong. There is no scientific evidence that neither drug helps treat the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

In a video posted in English on March 17, 2021, Kenyan doctor Stephen Kimotho Karanja claims that two sets of drugs help treat Covid-19. Hydroxychloroquine, as well as zinc and azithromycin.

He makes the same claim in his native Kikuyu in a second video posted on Facebook on March 24, 2021.

“Covid-19 can be treated. The following drugs are available, cheap and can be used at any time in Africa, Kenya and other countries. The backbone is a drug called ivermectin. So, usually used for worms, but very important in the treatment of Covid-19. Another drug is hydroxychloroquine, the so-called HCQ. When used with 50 milligrams of zinc, it weaponizes zinc and Covid-19. It destroys the virus, “he said in the video.

The post introduces Karanja as President of the Catholic Medical Association. The Catholic Medical Association issued a statement in March calling the Covid-19 vaccine “unnecessary” and “unsafe.”

Karanja is known for expressing feelings against vaccination. In 2014, he opposed the tetanus vaccine and also against the 2019 cervical cancer vaccine.

Ivermectin study “not definitive”

Scientists have been working hard to find treatments and vaccines to help treat and prevent Covid-19, which has killed more than 2.8 million people worldwide since its emergence in Wuhan, China in late 2019. I will.

Ivermectin is a drug used to combat a variety of parasitic infections. In the United States, ivermectin tablets are prescribed to treat parasites, and creams and lotions are used for symptoms such as head lice and rosacea. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved ivermectin to treat or prevent Covid-19.

The FDA recently warned of “increasing interest” in ivermectin for treating humans with COVID-19.

“The FDA has received multiple reports of hospitalized patients in need of medical assistance after self-treatment with ivermectin in horses,” said March 5, 2021.

WHO also advised in guidelines published March 31, 2021 that ivermectin should only be used to treat Covid-19 in clinical trials.

“There is no evidence to support the use of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. Ivermectin has been approved for use by humans to treat parasites, but the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 is not yet available. Not approved. Clinical trials are underway to determine the safety and efficacy of the drug in the treatment of COVID-19, “the United Nations Health Organization told AFP Fact Check.

Nairobi-based epidemiologist Emmanuel Okunga said more trials were needed to determine the efficacy of the drug.

“To confirm the efficacy of ivermectin, we need to conduct a large clinical trial that is not currently underway,” he told AFP fact checks.

Dozens of ongoing ivermectin trials worldwide are listed in the US database.

Hydroxychloroquine “little or no effect”

Hydroxychloroquine became a hot topic last year when celebrities such as former US President Donald Trump and controversial French doctor Didier Raoult mistakenly advertised the drug as a “cure” for Covid-19. It was.

Karanja is also not the first doctor to propose mixing hydroxychloroquine with other drugs to treat Covid-19. In July 2020, her video was reviewed when US-based doctor Stella Immanuel claimed she had successfully treated more than 350 Covid-19 patients with a combination of hydroxychloroquine, zinc and azithromycin. It has spread.

Trump helped spread Immanuel’s footage by sharing it on a Twitter account that is currently permanently suspended. AFP Fact Check uncovered Immanuel’s remarks.

No medical research supports the claim that hydroxychloroquine (alone or in combination with zinc and azithromycin) treats Covid-19.

WHO strongly recommends that you do not use hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat COVID-19 of any severity.

“Evidence from these studies shows that hydroxychloroquine has little or no effect on illness, hospitalization, or death. COVID- when hydroxychloroquine is mixed with zinc, azithromycin, or other drugs. There is no evidence that it is effective in preventing or treating 19, “WHO told AFP Fact Check.

Last June, the FDA approved the use of hydroxychloroquine from Strategic National Stockpile, the US national repository for antibiotics, vaccines, chemical antidotes and other important medicines, to treat hospitalized Covid-19 patients. The emergency use permission has been revoked.

In August 2020, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in South Africa also warned against the use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. Authorities have made it clear in the Covid-19 guidelines that “antibiotics do not treat viral infections.”

Antibiotics do not cure the virus

Azithromycin, sold as dysromycin, is commonly used to treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia, nasal and throat infections such as sinusitis (sinusitis), skin infections, and streptococcal pharyngitis. It is an antibiotic prescribed for. Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses like the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

In December 2020, British scientists concluded that azithromycin “has no meaningful clinical benefit for patients hospitalized with a severe form of illness,” based on preliminary data analysis of a British recovery trial. I attached it.

Unproven Zinc Claim

Zinc is a nutrient that can help the immune system fight infections. It also helps the body make proteins and DNA and is important for infant development.

The AFP fact check has previously made claims about Covid-19’s “cure” for zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D and more. Zinc is widely touted as a supplement to prevent and treat Covid-19. There is some evidence that zinc helps the body fight colds, but the National Science Foundation says, “Scientists don’t know if it helps relieve the symptoms of Covid-19.” I will.

Dr. Okunga said that taking zinc does not prevent or treat Covid-19.

“So far, studies have shown that zinc is not effective in treating Covid-19 and that self-prescribing with zinc is dangerous,” he said.

The National Institutes of Health warns against taking high doses of zinc to prevent Covid-19, including lack of evidence and potential side effects, including irreversible neurological conditions from long-term use of supplements. I’m pointing out.