A Medical Researcher, Dr Bamidele Iwalokun, on Wednesday urged Nigerians to dissuade from taking Chloroquine as prevention against COVID-19 infection.
Iwalokun, Deputy Director of Research at the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that such practice could have negative consequence.
The researcher of the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Department in NIMR, said: “The approval to use hydroxychloroquine as a clinical trial to treat the virus is a welcome development.
“Hydroxychloroquine is like other few drugs that have been found efficacious in treating COVID-19 through clinical trials and laboratory experiments in China and France, most especially.
“This is very important for health professionals and the general public to know that the approved hydroxychloroquine is slightly different from chloroquine and is far safer than chloroquine.
“There should be no panic buying of Chloroquine in the market as it will be counter-productive and even promote more spread of the virus.
“Covid-19 is a pandemic and home management is forbidden; any individual who is down with the common respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 should report to the appropriate authority,’’ he said.
Iwalokun, also Director of NIMR Central Laboratory, urged Nigerians to maintain a healthy lifestyle as the country continue to record more cases of the virus.
“This is the time every Nigerian smoker should quit, alcoholics should also quit or reduce their consumption drastically, as both smoking and alcohol intake promote severity of COVID-19.
“People living with diabetes, hypertension, asthma and cardiovascular diseases are also at risk of severe COVID-19.
“Nigerians need good nutrition and body exercise for least one per day for adults and 30 minutes per day for children to boost their immunity and physically fitness to prepare against COVID19.
“We should please adhere to all the instructions on hygiene and maintain social distancing to curb the spread in the country,’’ he said. (NAN)
