The recent outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan has infected
thousands of people, especially in China. As of till now 30,00 confirmed cases have
been reported in mainland China. Additionally, imported cases of coronavirus
were identified in many other countries including Thailand, Japan, South Korea,
United States, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, India, France, Australia, and Canada. The
cause of the outbreak has been named novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV ). This virus
belongs to the same family as SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV
(MERS-CoV) which cause epidemic and killed many in the early 2000s.
The virus is spreading everywhere infecting thousands of
innocent people. But there is no drug available for treatment. Scientists around
the globe are working their best to develop a drug for the treatment of infected
patients. The quickest solution is to check whether we can treat patients using
the drugs that are currently available for treating other viral infections. So, A scientist from Wuhan Institute of Virology tested the possibility of using 5
FAD approved drugs for treatment against coronavirus. Among those five, Remdesivir
and Chloroquine were found to be effective in killing the virus in vitro with
low toxicity to the human cells.
Chloroquine is an anti-malarial and autoimmune disease drug
which has recently been reported as a potential broad-spectrum antiviral drug.
Chloroquine blocks virus infection by increasing endosomal pH. In a high pH, the fusion
of the virus with the human cells is blocked . Chloroquine is a cheap and safe drug
that has been used for more than 70 years.
These two drugs are a potential choice for clinical application
against the 2019- nCoV .
Reference: Remdesivir and Chloroquine
Effectively Inhibit the Recently Emerged Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV ) in Vitro.
Cell Research.
Feb, 2020.
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