Coronavirus in Burkina: chloroquine rush, doctors warn of caution

Text by: RFI Follow

For several days, populations have rushed to chloroquine following announcements about tests in progress in France and the United States to reduce the viral load of people already confirmed for the coronavirus. The study not yet validated by the WHO, the president of the order of the doctors of Burkina calls for caution as for the use of chloroquine vis-a-vis the coronavirus.

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With our correspondent in Ouagadougou , Yaya Boudani

Difficult to find chloroquine in pharmacies in the Burkinabè capital, Ouagadougou. “ People come to ask for it. But the stock is exhausted. »Says a saleswoman. Although chloroquine attracts many Burkinabè, Professor Martial Ouédraogo, coordinator of the response to the coronavirus epidemic, warns that this product is not yet validated by the WHO in the fight against Covid-19. “ We mean here and there that there are molecules. But it's not clearly proven that it can help heal, he recalls. Do not use routes that have not been validated. "

The president of the order of doctors in Burkina Faso, in a message, invites doctors to refrain from prescribing chloroquine in order to treat suspected cases of Covid-19. Several reasons explain this ban, according to Dr. Alfred Ouedraogo, secretary general of the doctors' union of Burkina.

" This molecule has side effects," he recalls. Attention should be paid to retinopathy and many other aspects related to liver problems, etc. It is not worth using this drug for prevention, because we are dealing with an RNA virus. We can create resistance to chloroquine. Dr. Alfred Ouedraogo hopes that the scientific council set up in the context of the fight against Covid-19, will take this opportunity to conduct studies on chloroquine, since the product was already used in the treatment against malaria.

The country officially has 64 confirmed cases of Covid-19 contamination, with three deaths. Since the announcement of the first cases, the government has closed schools and universities, nightclubs, bars and other places of leisure. Gatherings are prohibited , gatherings of more than 50 people are no longer possible, land and rail borders are closed to travelers, commercial flights are prohibited, and a curfew is in effect from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. across the country to two weeks.

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• Burkina Faso
• Coronavirus
• Health and Medicine

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