Don't use hydroxychloroquine without prescription: Govt after people panic-buy 'miracle' cure to Covid-19

The demand for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, a related compound, have jumped after US President Donald Trump said that these salts were effective in treating Covid-19. While coronavirus panic spreads across the country, the Union Health Ministry has one strict advice -- do not take the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine without prescription. Even before, the anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine got a nod as an emergency response medicine for the treatment of Covid-19, the chemists were out of stock. India Today did a ground check and found that the chemist shops were out of stock for this medicine. It could lead to irregular heartbeat arrhythmia and could prove fatal to people with impending breathing problems. His wife, who also consumed the drug -- called chloroquine phosphate -- is in critical condition. There are currently no approved treatments, or preventive vaccines for COVID-19, the highly contagious, sometimes deadly respiratory illness caused by coronavirus. Researchers are studying existing treatments and working on experimental ones, but most current patients receive only supportive care such as breathing assistance. Hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, is among the medications undergoing testing as a potential treatment for patients with the disease. Chloroquine has demonstrated toxicity in certain patients, Dinesh Dua, chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, told Reuters.