Bolsonaro's love for hydroxychloroquine costs Brazil another health minister

[Judi Lynn]

Teich’s predecessor, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, also had rejected the use of choloquine, which also had been touted by US President Donald Trump as a treatment.

WORLD Updated: May 16, 2020 04:43 IST

Associated Press | Posted by: Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Brazil’s health minister resigned Friday after less than a month on the job in a sign of continuing upheaval over how the nation should battle the coronavirus pandemic, quitting a day after President Jair Bolsonaro stepped up pressure on him to expand use of the antimalarial drug chloroquine in treating patients.

Dr. Nelson Teich, an oncologist and health care consultant, took the job April 17 faced with the task of aligning the ministry’s actions with the president’s view that Brazil’s economy must not be destroyed by restrictions to control spread of the virus.

Teich’s predecessor, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, also had rejected the use of choloquine, which also had been touted by US President Donald Trump as a treatment.

Officials say more than 13,000 people have died in Brazil from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, though some experts say the figure is significantly higher due to insufficient testing. The peak of the crisis has yet to hit Latin America’s largest nation, experts say.

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bolsonaro-s-love-for-hydroxychloroquine-costs-brazil-another-health-minister/story-jkEFmRFR4sZYneLZxQjb1J.html

[abqtommy]

1. Here are some facts about hydrochloroquine, chloroquine and cholorquine phosphate that

I've discovered in my research: NOTE: Chloroquine and Chloroquine Phosphate are two names that refer to the same drug.

1. A. Hydroxychlorquine is listed as as a medication to prevent malaria. It is taken ONCE A WEEK
with doses of around 500mg. Follow your doctor's orders. If malaria develops while using this drug for chemoprophylaxis/prevention, it should not be used as part of the treatment regimen. -Current guidelines should be consulted for additional information.
1. B. It is used as a treatment for malaria infection with an additional dose and follow-up doses at
6, 24 and 48 hours. All doses are less than 800 mg each.
1. C. It is used as a treatment for lupus and similar afflictions. It's said to be a milder form of chloroquine. I didn't find any specific dosage for the lupus treatment using this medication. Follow
your doctor's instructions.

I did find this warning: An overdose of hydroxychloroquine can be fatal, especially in children. For this
reason any treatment using this med is restricted to persons 18 years of age or older.

2. A. Chloroquine/Chloroquine Phosphate is the first choice to use as to prevent malaria. In that application there's an initial dose then follow-up doses taken ONCE A WEEK as long as protection is desired. All doses are less than 1,000mg/1G
2. B. Chloroquine/Chloroquine Phosphate can be used to treat malaria infection. The initial dose is 1,000mg/1G on Day 1 followed by one dose each day of 500mg for 3 days. This usually breaks the infection.

These doses are lower than the 2G dose that was identified as lethal, even if only given once a day.
Pay attention people!

Malaria must be diagnosed using a blood test viewed under a microscope since there are five types of malaria. The type of malaria present will dictate which drug is used as treatment.

There are other drugs used to treat malaria but I've focused on these since they've been advanced as effective against COVID-19 BUT ONLY WHEN USED IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER AIDS OR
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS. Certainly it seems that no malaria drug should be used for any purpose at a higher dose than that used to treat malaria. (This last sentence is my opinion.)

Now we have the promise of remesdivir but we still need more research. Anything short of a vaccine that helps to stop/reduce the COVID-19 symptoms is welcome, in my opinion.