Antimalarial chloroquine: a powerful weapon for viruses? [Chinese]

ABSTRACT

The treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia is imminent. What is worrying is that there is currently no clear drug on the market that can prevent or treat it. The antimalarial drug chloroquine has been used clinically for more than 70 years with high safety. Recent studies have shown that chloroquine can inhibit the activity of a variety of viruses, and is likely to become a potential drug for the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia. Based on the PubMed database, here is a summary of the antiviral research of chloroquine in recent years and a discussion about the feasibility and strategy of using chloroquine against COVID-19, with an overview of the current development of new anti-COVID-19 drugs or the clinical treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia strategies that could provide useful help.