Ben Kerrigan-
Oxford University and Brighton University are conducting trials to find out whether hydroxychlorine can prevent Covid-19 .
Front line healthcare workers in the UK will be able to take part in a worldwide clinical trial to assess the efficacy of the malaria drug in preventing the coronavirus.
A new study aims to establish whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent Covid-19 for staff in Brighton and Oxford, with the study opening from Thursday.
Oxford Radcliffe Hospital and Royal Sussex County hospital in Brighton are among the first hospitals involved in the study involving 40,000 health professionals from around the world. The trials follow recommendations from U.S president Donald Trump, despite the criticisms he has received..
The trial, led by the University of Oxford with the support of the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) in Bangkok will open to British participants at hospital sites in Brighton and Oxford on Thursday.
It will involve those who are in close contact with patients with proven or suspected COVID-19.
“We really do not know if chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are beneficial or harmful against COVID-19,” said the University of Oxford’s Professor Nicholas White, the study’s co-principal investigator, who is based at MORU.
“The best way to find out if they are effective in preventing COVID-19 is in a randomised clinical trial.”
Under the plans, Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or a placebo is to be given to more than 40,000 healthcare workers from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
The first UK participants in the global trial will be enrolled on Thursday at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, and will be given either hydroxychloroquine or a placebo for three months.
It could take up to a year to discover the outcome of the tests.The trial expects to test whether the drugs can prevent healthcare workers exposed to the virus from contracting it.
“A widely available, safe and effective vaccine may be a long way off,” said Prof Martin Llewelyn from Brighton and Sussex Medical School, who is also leading the study.
“If drugs as well-tolerated as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could reduce the chances of catching Covid-19, this would be incredibly valuable.”
The drugs can reduce fever and inflammation and are used as both a prevention and a treatment for malaria.
Hydroxychloroquine is known for regulating the body’s immune response and is also used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus – an inflammatory disease caused by an overactive immune system.