After Trump calls Hydroxychloroquine ‘gift from heaven’ Bolsonaro calls it ‘sanjeevni booti’

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After Trump calls Hydroxychloroquine ‘gift from heaven’ Bolsonaro calls it ‘sanjeevni booti’

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  • A day after India partially lifted the ban on the export of Hydroxychloroquine , Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro too requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to export the drug to Brazil.
  • He cited a tale from India’s ancient Ramayana while urging the Indian government to supply the drug.
  • With this, Brazil adds to the existing 30 countries — including Sri Lanka, UAE and Nepal — that appealed to India for Hydroxychloroquine.
US President Donald Trump had threatened retaliation to India for clamping the export of a Covid-19 drug Hydroxychloroquine. He had earlier called the drug a ‘gift from heavens’ especially after the US became the epicenter of the deadly pandemic.

But many other countries have been seeking the same, though they requested Prime Minister Modi to relax the partial ban on its exports. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro made the most colourful of such appeals.

After Trump calls Hydroxychloroquine ‘gift from heaven’ Bolsonaro calls it ‘sanjeevni booti’
Wearing masks, Brazil's Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, right, applies alcohol gel on hands of President Jair Bolsonaro's hands during a press conference on the new coronavirus, at the Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 18, 2019. For most people COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms. For others, especially the elderly and people with existing health problems, it can cause many other serious illnesses, including pneumonia.Photo/Andre Borges)

He cited a tale from India’s ancient Ramayana while urging him to supply the drug.

“Just as Lord Hanuman brought the holy medicine from the Himalayas to save the life of Lord Rama's brother Lakshmana, and Jesus healed those who were sick and restored the sight to Bartimeu, India and Brazil will overcome this global crisis by joining forces and sharing blessings for the sake of all peoples,” Bolsonaro said in his letter to Modi.

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India’s ‘wonder drug’ Hydroxychloroquine has become a ‘sanjeevni booti’ for him which saw a surge of cases to over 14,000. After Lakshmana was injured during Ram’s war with Ravan, Lord Hanuman is known to have carried an entire mountain in his palm to ensure that the life-giving Sanjivani herb is administered on time.

The anti-malarial drug is believed to be one of the most promising treatments, a ‘holy medicine’ against Coronavirus.

30 countries ask India to export Hydroxychloroquine
After Trump calls Hydroxychloroquine ‘gift from heaven’ Bolsonaro calls it ‘sanjeevni booti’
A pharmacist shows a bottle of the drug hydroxychloroquine on Monday, April 6, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. President Donald Trump and his administration kept up their out-sized promotion Monday of an malaria drug not yet officially approved for fighting the new coronavirus, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it's proven safe and effective against COVID-19. Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro championed hydroxychloroquine in television interviews a day after the president publicly put his faith in the medication to lessen the toll of the coronavirus pandemic.Photo/Ben Margot)

With this, Brazil adds to the list of 30 countries — including Sri Lanka, UAE and Nepal — that have been urging India to export Hydroxychloroquine. This is despite the fact that the drug has no clinical proof of being a cure for Coronavirus. However, it can treat the viral infections in general.

This is possibly because hydroxychloroquine is by far the most promising drugs, which is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is undergoing clinical trials.

However, it will take at least 12 to 18 months to prepare a vaccine to treat Coronavirus, as per Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
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Trump calls hydroxychloroquine a ‘game changer’
After Trump calls Hydroxychloroquine ‘gift from heaven’ Bolsonaro calls it ‘sanjeevni booti’
President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands before their meeting at Hyderabad House, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India.Photo/Alex Brandon)

Yesterday (April 7), Trump appealed to the Indian government for an urgent supply of the anti-malarial drug and paracetamol — and warned him of dire consequences. After which, India relaxed the ban on humanitarian grounds.

India had banned the export of hydroxychloroquine recently after its own cases rose. However, Trump said that he was unaware of the development and didn’t “like that decision.” Trump believes that the combination of two drugs — antibiotic azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine — a ‘game changer’ for treating Coronavirus.

"Hydroxy-chloroquine is found to be effective against Coronavirus in laboratory studies and in-vivo studies. Its use in prophylaxis is derived from the available evidence of benefit as treatment and supported by preclinical data," IANS reported citing the advisory by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The researchers found that it could stop viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells. But, “the problem is that what happens in the lab often doesn’t predict what happens in a patient,” Dr Otto Yang of the University of California, Los Angeles told the TIME.

The drug however has certain side-effects too. Experts suggest that the medication shouldn’t be used on patients below 15 years and above 60 years due to possible side-effects on kidney and heart.
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See also:
Here are the potential Coronavirus treatments that India and other countries are banking on
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