The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers on Friday against taking malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 outside a hospital or formal clinical trial setting after “serious” poisoning and deaths were reported.
The agency said in a statement it became aware of reports of “serious heart rhythm problems” in patients with the virus who were treated with the malaria drugs, often in combination with antibiotic azithromycin.
The FDA also warned physicians against prescribing the drugs to treat the coronavirus outside of a hospital.
Chloroquine is a decades-old drug that was approved by the FDA in 1949 to treat malaria. Its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, is often used by doctors to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Some physicians have been using the drugs, which are known to come with side effects, in hopes it can curb the duration of the virus in patients.