translated from Spanish: What are hydroxychloroquine and Remdesivir for?

Mexico.- In the search for a therapy against coronavirus (Covid-19) Hydroxychloroquine and Remdesivir have been named as possible effective drugs, these have already been tested in the United States and apparently with positive results in laboratio tests. The hydroxychloroquine drug is a class of medicines known as antimalarials, MedlinePlus says, used to prevent and treat acute malaria attacks. It is also used to treat systemic and discoid lupus erythematosoand and rheumatoid arthritis in patients whose symptoms have not improved with other treatments. 

It is occasionally also used as a treatment to treat late skin porphyria. This drug also tested positive for the treatment of systemic autoimmune diseases, i.e. when the immune system mistakenly attacks parts of a person’s healthy tissue. Hydroxychloroquine is also effective in treating Sjogren’s syndrome, it is an autoimmune disorder, which means that the body mistakenly attacks healthy tissue; dermatomyositis, which is inflammation of the muscles and skin; sarcoidosis, which is the presence of bumps in the skin, joints, lungs and lymph nodes. 

While Remdesivir was a medicine developed to combat the Ebola virus used in Europe and the United States, it is also used for the treatment of Marburg syndrome, this drug, according to the head of the Hospital Coordinating Commission (CCINSHAE), this medicine is not available in Mexico. On February 25, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) released that a study is being conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of the antiviral remdesivir against the new Coronavirus Covid 19. It is important to clarify that a specific vaccine for coronavirus prevention is not yet available and global health authorities focus on the prevention methods that people should take to prevent the population from being contagion. These measures include hygiene measures such as constantly washing hands, wearing disposable handkerchiefs when sneezing or coughing, using mouthcovers if attending crowded places. 

Original source in Spanish