Asia's biggest slum, Dharavi in Mumbai, continues to witness a rise in coronavirus positive cases.
As Maharashtra emerges as the worst-hit state in the country due to the novel coronavirus, the state government is considering giving hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets to high-risk slum residents in Mumbai, as a “preventive measure”.
Suspected patients kept in quarantine facilities in Dharavi were likely to be the first ones to get the HCQ tablets. Asia's biggest slum, Dharavi in Mumbai, continues to witness a rise in coronavirus positive cases. A total of 47 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in Dharavi, while five succumbed to the infection in the area. “In places like Dharavi, the plan is more a socio-demographic compulsion,” Times of India reported quoting a high-ranking state government official.
If the things go as per plan, then it could be the first time that hydroxychloroquine tablets is used as coronavirus prophylaxis at the community level in India.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope also confirmed the plan, saying, “HCQS is used to treat malaria and there have been instances of it being used in the US as a preventive medicine against the coronavirus. We plan to use it in areas like Dharavi where the risk of virus is high.”
Asserting that whole of Dharavi area will not be given the drug, Tope reportedly said, “We cannot waste resources like that. People will be categorised in groups like – those in high risk, government quarantine or in contact with the infected patients.”
The government is currently working out on the number of people to be given the dosage.
“There is adequate medical literature to show that HCQS use will have definite advantages at this stage. The plan will have stringent exclusion criteria as it is known to affect heart and retina,” Dr Subhash Salunkhe, technical advisor to the state on pandemic control said.
Times of India has reported that the state will send a formal proposal to the Centre and ICMR soon on this and once the paper work gets done, the drug will be given to those in quarantine centres in Dharavi area.
According to sources, the plan has already been discussed with the national Covid-19 task force team and if it works in Dharavi, then they may consider using it in other pockets as well.
Amid a global debate on whether the anti-malarial drug will prove effective in treating Covid-19, the Indian Council of Medical Research had last month recommended the use of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine “under exceptional circumstances” as a line of treatment against high-risk coronavirus patients.
Hydroxychloroquine has also been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the Covid-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York.
US President Donald Trump has bought more than 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine from India for potential treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and rheumatoid conditions such as arthritis. In various studies, the drug has demonstrated antiviral activity, an ability to modify the activity of the immune system, and has an established safety profile at appropriate doses, leading to the hypothesis that it may also be useful in the treatment of COVID-19, the National Institute of Health had said in a report.
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