Coronavirus treatment breakthrough: French study shows that a combination of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Azithromycin are effective in treating COVID-19 patients.

A study commissioned by the French government, now confirms the story we reported on Wednesday, that a combination of anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Azithromycin are effective in treating COVID-19 patients. According to the study published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, the combination therapy shows significant and promising results in treatment of coronavirus on 36 COVID-19 patients.

The study, which was conducted and led by Philippe Gautreta, et. al in Marseille, France, showed that 100% of patients that received a combination of HCQ and Azithromycin tested negative and were virologically cured within 6 days of treatment. “Among hydroxychloroquine-treated patients six patients received azithromycin (500mg on day1 followed by 250mg per day, the next four days) to prevent bacterial super-infection under daily electrocardiogram control,” the team said.

In a study recently released to the public, Gautreta and his team of researchers treated 20 patients with 600 milligrams of hydroxychloroquine daily in a hospital setting between early and mid-March. Depending on their symptoms, the coronovirus patients received a combination of HCQ and Azithromyci, an antibiotic that fights bacteria and used to treat many different types of infections caused by bacteria, such as respiratory infections, skin infections, ear infections, eye infections, and sexually transmitted diseases.

The 16 remaining patients were not given the drug as a control. After 6 days, the percentage of cases still carrying SRAS-CoV-2 among patients given combination hydroxychloroquine and Azithromyci therapy, was no more than 5% (shown below) The combination therapy performs better than patients on just the choloroquine.

Below is graph from the French hydroxychloroquine study.