WHO orders stoppage of use of hydroxychloroquine in treating coronavirus

The World Health Organisation is in another suspicious game over the controversial coronavirus ravaging the world to which countries are finding possible solutions to eradicate. WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Monday ordered the suspension of testing the malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, on Covid-19 patients because of safety concerns.

US President, Donald Trump, had ordered the use of Hydroxycholoroquine as a possible treatment for coronavirus infection.

In Nigeria,  Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, who once tested positive to coronavirus and under went treatment in isolation, had ordered the use of Hydroxycholoroquine for treatment of coronavirus patients in the state; insisting that he takes responsibility of any casualty in the use of the drug.

The WHO official, Tedros, had, however, declared that “The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board.”

The WHO DG stated that other arms of the trial – a major international initiative to hold clinical tests of potential treatments for the virus – were continuing.

The WHO has earlier opposed usage OF hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent coronavirus infections, except as part of clinical trials.

The head of the WHO emergencies programme, Dr. Mike Ryan, explained that the decision to suspend trials of hydroxychloroquine had been taken out of “an abundance of caution.”