Article Shows Ministry of Science-Designated Vermifuge Reduces Viral Load, But Not Risk of Death or Severe Covid Symptoms, Experts Say | Coronavirus

“The main objective of the study, to reduce deaths and severe symptoms of Covid-19, was not achieved. Only a secondary objective was presented, that the drug is able to reduce the viral load. This, in practice, does not solve the problem of coronavirus, ”said epidemiologist Paulo Lotufo.

The infectologist Alberto Chebabo, who also read the article, estimates that the drug failed to reduce the severe symptoms of Covid-19.

“The article did not show that nitazoxanide is capable of reducing the risk of death or serious outcomes, such as the need for oxygen and progression to a mechanical respirator. It only decreased the occurrence of fever and viral load. That is very little for the severity of the disease. “, says Chebabo.

The article with the results was published in a pre-printed version on the medRxiv platform and is still being evaluated by a scientific journal. According to the publication, nitazoxanide reduced the viral load in patients with mild symptoms and decreased fever.

“It is a job well done, which shows that the drug has an antiviral activity, which was to reduce the viral load, but we do not know what that means in practice, more research is needed. It is not possible to say that it reduced the risk of contagion only by reducing the viral load and that it is no longer necessary to isolate ”, explains Chebabo.

The study was coordinated by researcher Patricia Rieken Macedo Rocco, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (URFJ), who participated in the federal government ceremony to publicize the research. (Look down)

When asked if it makes sense, as shown in the article, for nitazoxanide to bind to the Covid-19 treatment protocol, Chebabo answers that it does not, and compares the drug with the antiviral remdesivir.

“The effects indicated in the treatment with nitazoxanide are minimal, it does not justify the massive production and the adoption in the treatments. However, it has antiviral activity, so it can be studied further, ”he says.

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“For comparison, it is much better than chloroquine, which is expensive and has no effect. Or we can compare it with remdesivir, which has some effect, but has no impact on severe cases and on the decrease in deaths ”, he compares. Chebabo.

On Monday (19), the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marcos Pontes, together with President Jair Bolsonaro, announced the conclusion of the study in question and only said, without showing data, that the drug had “positive results.” .

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Without giving details of the results or presenting the study in its entirety, the government reported that clinical trials with volunteers showed that the drug reduced viral load when taken within 3 days of the onset of symptoms.

According to the government, the work had been subjected to analysis by a scientific journal and, therefore, the ministry cannot give details of the results.

During the ceremony, the government presented a video showing the trajectory of the investigation. In it, the organizers displayed a graph without data, identical to the one available in the image bank service ShutterStock.

The images are shown when the narrator affirms that “the mission entrusted to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Information has been fulfilled” and “the result has scientifically demonstrated the efficacy of the drug on viral load”.

Here is the image available in the image bank:

Wanted for G1, MCTIC’s press office reported that “the graphic used in the video presented at the nitazoxanide clinical trial results announcement event is not part of the study data and is for illustrative purposes only.”

Nitazoxanide is a drug used in the country under the trade names Azox and Annita and is part of the group of antiparasitics and dewormers. The drug also has antiviral action and is prescribed in cases of rotavirus.

To avoid self-medication, the drug began to be sold by prescription only in April this year. However, a decision by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) on September 1 removed the requirement to withhold income. The commercially available nitazoxanide-containing drug has no indication for coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the minister, more than 1,500 volunteers from seven cities in the Federal District, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro participated in the clinical study. They were divided into two groups: one took nitazoxanide and the other took a placebo. According to the government, the group that received the drug, a vermifuge, showed a decrease in viral load.

“He [nitazoxanida] it is inexpensive, it has no major side effects, “said Pontes. “Nitazoxanide cannot be used to prevent [da Covid-19]”Added the minister.

President Jair Bolsonaro and First Lady Michele Bolsonaro participated in the ceremony to present the first conclusions of the investigation.

“There was a significant reduction in viral load in this group,” said the study’s general coordinator, Patrícia Rieken Macedo Rocco, head of the Pulmonary Research Laboratory of the Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute (IBCCF) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). .

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