Invited Wednesday morning of Europe 1, Didier Raoult, infectiologist at the Pole of infectious diseases at the Timone CHU in Marseille, explained how a simple treatment against malaria could cure Covid-19.

INTERVIEW

The coronavirus, now called Covid-19, is spreading around the world, fueling public concern. According to the Minister of Health, "the epidemic is upon us". Italy is facing an unprecedented acceleration of the virus, and two new cases were confirmed in France on Tuesday evening. However, according to Didier Raoult, infectious disease specialist at the Infectious Diseases Center at the Timone University Hospital in Marseille and director of the Mediterranean Infection Institute in Marseille, a simple treatment against malaria could cure Covid-19.

Her name ? Chloroquine phosphate. Used in particular against malaria, it has been used for years "in infections with bacteria that live like viruses inside cells", explains Didier Raoult on Europe 1. "And it works very well".

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Used for 70 years

It is a Chinese study, based on the clinical evaluation of a dozen hospitals which revealed the effectiveness of the drug on the virus. Result: over one hundred patients, chloroquine phosphate has been shown to be more effective than the treatment received by another group in containing the progression of the disease and causing the patient to become negative for the virus again.

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"This drug has been used for 70 years," insists Didier Raoult, who specifies that doctors and scientists had published, ten years ago, a study showing that chloroquine phosphate represented a drug of the future in the treatment of viral infections. "But people prefer new drugs for new issues", rather than "repositioning", which is the reuse of old molecules "which we know is safe and can be used immediately, and not waste five years on the regulations and toxicity, "he says.

Very inexpensive

In addition, the infectious disease specialist recalls the low cost of this treatment. "Ten cents on the tablet," said Didier Raoult at the microphone of Europe 1. A ridiculous cost making such treatment likely to be disseminated everywhere. If he raised the subject with the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran? Yes, replied the doctor. "He told me that he was looking at the problem," he continues, deploring the slow reaction of politicians compared to that of scientists. "You have to have an active reflection."