Drugs used to treat HIV and malaria could be used to tackle the coronavirus, according to scientists in Australia.
A team of infectious disease experts at the University of Queensland in Brisbane say they have seen two existing medications manage to wipe out COVID-19 infections.
Chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, and HIV-suppressing combination lopinavir/ritonavir have both reportedly shown promising results in human tests and made the virus ‘disappear’ in infected patients.
The drugs are being tested as researchers and doctors around the world scramble to try and find a vaccine, cure or treatment for the deadly virus.
CHLOROQUINE
Chloroquine is a drug which was once commonly used to prevent and treat malaria.
As humans have developed an increased natural resistance to the mosquito-borne disease, the drug has been used less frequently.
Researchers now believe it may hold the key to treating COVID-19, the latest strain of coronavirus.
Common side affects include muscle problems, loss of appetite and diarrhoea.
In February 2020, Chinese medics determined the drug may be safe and effective in treating coronavirus induced pneumonia.
LOPINAVIR/RITONAVIR (KALETRA)
The combined fixed dose drug has been used in the fight against HIV and AIDS since 2006.
Some of the negative side affects to the drug include diarrhoea, vomiting, feeling tired, headaches, and muscle aches.
Chinese medical researchers suggested the drug had successfully cured coronavirus patients after the December 2019 outbreak.
Requests have been submitted in China to start a clinical trial of the drug to accurately determine its effectiveness in fighting COVID-19.
Australian authorities are also hoping to test the drug on local patients.
More than 170,000 people around the world have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 6,512 have died