The "chloroquine" controversy continues: Algerian doctors defend the drug as a treatment for "Corona"

Algerian doctors denied that the chloroquine drug used to treat patients with the Corona pandemic virus had side effects, stressing that it contributed to an improvement in the conditions of patients who underwent it.

Reports have reported that Swedish hospitals stopped using chloroquine for the treatment of malaria in patients with the emerging coronavirus, claiming it caused serious side effects including cramps, peripheral vision loss and migraines within days of taking it.

But a member of the Committee to monitor and follow up on the outbreak of the Corona virus in Algeria, Professor Reda Mahiaoui, confirmed that the cases of this virus that were subjected to treatment with chloroquine were not subject to complications (side effects).

According to preliminary results, Muhiawi added, in a statement quoted by the official Algerian News Agency, Friday, that chloroquine treatment, which the Ministry of Health called for since March 23, has been prescribed, along with Zetromax.

For her part, Professor Nassima Ashour, head of the Infectious Diseases Department at the “Train” Hospital specialized in infectious diseases in the Algerian capital, revealed that 17 cases of similar recovery from 42 had undergone chloroquine treatment.

Meanwhile, a member of the Corona Virus Outbreak Monitoring and Monitoring Committee, Dr. Muhammad Baqat Burkani, pointed out that «some cases are recovering from the Corona virus from time to time after being treated with chloroquine».

And he considered that "it is too early to give the results of all cases that are subject to this treatment across the country, because each case requires treatment for at least 10 days."

The Algerian Minister of Health, Abdel Rahman Bin Bouzid, has confirmed that the initial results of using chloroquine are "very encouraging", pointing out that a comprehensive national study will be presented after a huge number of patients undergo this treatment on a large scale.

It is reported that the number of people who were treated with chloroquine in Algeria reached 1712. According to the Algerian Ministry of Health, on Friday, the deaths from the Corona pandemic increased to 256, and the number of injuries increased to 1761.