Australians are urged NOT to use an anti-malaria drug once hailed by Donald Trump as a coronavirus 'game-changer' - as Border Force seizes thousands of pills

  • More than 6,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine have been seized by the ABF 
  • Drug was acknowledged as potential cure against coronavirus by Donald Trump 
  • Hydroxychloroquine used for malaria and and certain auto-immune diseases 
  • Australians are urged to stop importing and self-prescribing the product 
Australians are being warned not to use an anti-malarial drug once hailed by Donald Trump as a coronavirus 'game-changer'.
More than 6,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine have been seized by the Australian Border Force since January.
Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and and certain auto-immune diseases.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued a warning to Australians not to consume the drug.
If incorrectly used, the drug could cause sudden heart attacks, irreversible eye damage and severe depletion of blood sugar which can cause comas. 
More than 6,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine have been seized by the Australian Border Force since January
More than 6,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine have been seized by the Australian Border Force since January 
Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and and certain auto-immune diseases (a consignment seized by ABF)
Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and and certain auto-immune diseases (a consignment seized by ABF)
TGA issued an alert to medical professionals on March 24 which advises them on increased restrictions when prescribing the drug. 
'ABF officers are on the lookout for consignments of this drug, along with all other prohibited imports and exports,' ABF Acting Commander Susan Drennan said.
'Anyone considering further unauthorised imports will be wasting their money.
'Whether its individuals wanting to self-prescribe, or criminals aiming to sell the drug on the black market, our officers have the technology, skills and innovative processes to detect and disrupt their illegal importations of pharmaceuticals such as this.'
Trump has repeatedly hyped the prospects of hydroxychloroquine - although he notably toned down his comments boosting the drug recently.

Trump staged a White House event last in April with former patients who recovered from a coronavirus infection, including some who were treated with hydroxychloroquine.

'So you took the hydroxy?' he asked a former patient. 'Why did you take the hydroxy? Why did you do that? You saw it on television?' Trump asked.

In March, he called it a 'a very strong, powerful medicine', adding that it 'doesn’t kill people'. 

If incorrectly used, the drug could cause sudden heart attacks, irreversible eye damage and severe depletion of blood sugar which could leave you in a coma +4
If incorrectly used, the drug could cause sudden heart attacks, irreversible eye damage and severe depletion of blood sugar which could leave you in a coma 

In March, Trump called the drug a 'a very strong, powerful medicine', adding that it 'doesn¿t kill people' +4
In March, Trump called the drug a 'a very strong, powerful medicine', adding that it 'doesn’t kill people'

On March 21, Trump tweeted: 'HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. The FDA has moved mountains - Thank You! Hopefully they will BOTH (H works better with A, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents) ...be put in use IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE ARE DYING, MOVE FAST, and GOD BLESS EVERYONE!' Trump wrote.

More U.S. veterans sickened by coronavirus who were treated with the malaria drug Trump touted for treating the disease died than did patients who were given the usual supportive care, a study revealed.

And the results suggested that the drug, hydroxychloroquine, provided no benefit to the patients who received it. 

The study was posted on an online site for researchers and has has not been reviewed by other scientists. Grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Virginia paid for the work.

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