Covid-19 : Chloroquine used to treat all patients in Morocco

Chloroquine «will be prescribed» to treat all patients infected by the novel coronavirus in Morocco, said Thursday Professor Abdelfattah Chakib, specialist in infectious diseases at the Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca, ensuring that the stock of medicines containing this substance is «largely sufficient».

«In Morocco, the technical and scientific committee of the Ministry of Health has decided to prescribe chloroquine to treat all patients, not just severe cases», Professor Chakib pointed out in an interview with the Moroccan News Agency (MAP).

«The Ministry of Health has seized all the stock at the laboratory manufacturing this substance», he said, adding that pharmaceutical companies are «ready to manufacture and distribute chloroquine across the world».

Regarding the side effects that chloroquine can generate, Professor Chakib said this substance can cause complications for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, including prolonged QT interval.

He thus advised people to take this treatment only when prescribed by a doctor, noting that chloroquine can also cause, as it is the case for other medicines, «minor" side effects, particularly when taken for a short time (muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting...).