Benefits found in throat spray and hydroxychloroquine

USING a throat spray or consuming the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has been found to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection in healthy individuals in areas with high transmission rates.

These findings were revealed by a local study of more than 3,000 healthy young migrant workers who were quarantined in Tuas South Dormitory in May last year.

The study found that taking a povidone-iodine throat spray three times a day, or the oral drug hydroxychloroquine once daily, reduced the likelihood of getting infected by Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, by over 20%.

The study was done by a team of clinician-scientists from the National University Health System, led by Associate Professor Raymond Seet, a senior consultant in the division of neurology at the department of medicine in National University Hospital.

Prof Seet said: “At the start of the outbreak, the numbers of dorm infections were simply overwhelming. That was when we got together to come up with the idea of running a study, all with the overarching aim to help ease the burden on our healthcare system.”

Repurposing accessible existing drugs such as povidone-iodine and hydroxychloroquine is a practical way to curb the spread of the virus, especially in regions where Covid-19 is rampant, said Prof Seet.

The throat spray can be bought over the counter at pharmacies while hydroxychloroquine will require a doctor’s prescription.

A total of 3,037 asymptomatic healthy young men with an average age of 33, who produced a negative serology test result indicating no prior exposure to the virus, were studied.

These dormitory residents were mostly from India and Bangladesh.

The men were split into five groups, with each group given one of the following for six weeks: vitamin C (control group), zinc and vitamin C, the povidone-iodine throat spray, hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin.

At that time, Covid-19 clusters were still rampant in Singapore’s dormitories, and residents were isolated or quarantined in their rooms which they shared.

After six weeks, collected blood samples were analysed for their antibody response to Sars-CoV-2.

It was found that 70% of those in the vitamin C group had been infected, while 46% of those in the povidone-iodine throat spray group and 49% of workers in the hydroxychloroquine group were infected with the virus.

None of the workers died or required hospitalisation.

“Until mass vaccination is successfully implemented globally, non-pharmacological interventions such as masking and physical distancing are the only proven measures to mitigate transmission, ” Prof Seet cautioned. — The Straits Times/ANN