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Lastest News Nigeria, Politics, Business, Sport, Interview
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has warned the publics that Chloroquine has not been approved for treatment of the novel virus.
Its Director General, Chikwe Ihekweazu, gave the warning in Abuja on Thursday, while reacting to the recent media reports that suggested that chloroquine could protect people from coronavirus or treat patients of the virus.
” Nigerians should please remember that the use of chloroquine and its derivatives for the management of COVID-19 disease has not been validated and approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO)”.
” There have been promising results by researchers but until then, the drug is not approved for use for COVID-19 treatment.
” Nigerians should know that self-medication can cause harm and lead to death.
“Do not misuse drugs. We understand these are challenging times, and Nigerians may be worried, but the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), through the NCDC is doing everything it can to continue to ensure the safety and health security of every Nigerian.
“Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have not been licensed to treat COVID-19 related symptoms or prevent infection,” the DG said.
The NCDC boss said that clinical trials were still ongoing to test chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as an agent in the treatment of COVID-19 or to prevent COVID-19 infection.
He said that these clinical trials were yet to be concluded, so no concluding result have been reached on the safety and effectiveness of this medicine to treat or prevent the virus.
He added, that until the WHO, have clear, definitive evidence that these treatments were safe and effective for the treatment of coronavirus, it should not be misused.
The DG further said that the NCDC in its proactiveness to the outbreak has begun a communications campaign to debunk misinformation and provide Nigerians with facts to protect their health.
Report shows that Lagos State still has the highest number of confirmed cases with 32 cases, followed by Abuja with 10 cases, Ogun State three, and Ekiti, Oyo Edo, Bauchi Osun and Rivers have one case each.
Most of the cases reported are travellers who have just returned to the country, while others are people who have come in contact with infected people.
