Senegal Top Researcher Successfully Using Combination of Hydroxychloroquine & Azithromycin to Fight COVID-19

While it was heralded with much promise, the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine commanded much attention in the early dates of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the primary repurposed drug in a number of high profile studies to the then President of the United States touting the benefits, the spotlight was pretty bright. But that certainly didn’t last with a number of unfolding affairs, from shady journal entries to side effects to some lackluster study results, a backlash to the policization in America and perhaps other economical agendas—not as friendly to generic drugs for COVID-19—combined to kill the promise of the drug fast in the rich economies of America, Europe, etc. However, the drug continued to be used as a treatment against COVID-19 in many parts of the world. In Africa, for example, TrialSite reported that the World Health Organization-affiliated ANTICOV study actually based the core study treatment as hydroxychloroquine. Recently, the head of the infectious disease department at Fann Hospital as well as a full professor and chair of infectious diseases at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Dr. Moussa Seydi, discussed the use of the controversial drug here in this West African nation of Senegal. Interviewed by a French publication recently, the researcher emphasized that his study team used hydroxychloroquine as they faced emergency conditions with no other real choices at the time. Even through several studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) rejected the drug, declaring that it lacks efficacy and poses risk of side effects, while the independent-minded physician suggested that the studies here in Senegal show positive results for COVID-19 treatment, evidencing only minor side effects, such as diarrhea.What has been his observations and what is next for Senegal?


