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NOT REAL NEWS: A week of false news around the coronavirusThe Associated Press
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www.dailycitizen.news]
CLAIM: Tonic water or quinine supplements can be used to prevent or treat coronavirus symptoms.THE FACTS: Medical experts say as of now there is no proven medication or home remedy that can cure coronavirus. Posts circulating on Facebook and Twitter suggest that drinking tonic water from Schweppes or Fever-Tree will work to treat the new coronavirus because the drinks contain quinine. Quinine is a compound found in the bark of the Cinchona tree and has been used to treat malaria. Malaria drugs like chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are the synthetic form of quinine. “I would not encourage anyone to drink tonic water to prevent or treat covid at all,” said Dr. Michael Angarone, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Social media users appear to be suggesting there is no difference between quinine and hydroxychloroquine, which has been touted by President Donald Trump as a treatment for coronavirus. Hydroxychloroquine has not been approved as a drug to treat coronavirus and medical experts have not concluded whether the drug is safe or effective for this use. “The data so far in terms of therapeutic efficacy are pretty shaky,” said Dr. David Hamer, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health and School of Medicine and physician at Boston Medical Center. Other posts tout a combination of tonic water and zinc, an idea that gained traction after
a St. Louis chiropractor posted a video recommending the combination. Experts say there is no scientific evidence that quinine would have any impact if used in this way. The concentration used for medical use is different from the concentration of quinine used in soft drinks, said Dr. Humberto Choi, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic. As far as taking tonic water and zinc, Choi said while zinc has been studied to see if it could help protect organs against low oxygen supply in cases of severe lung infection or inflammation, it has not been proven to treat the infection itself. “I don’t think people should be fooled to think they are ingesting something that is causing any benefit to them,” he said.
Tonic water companies like Fever-Tree are debunking the myth online. “We would not advise using our tonic water for anything other than making a tasty drink to keep your spirits up during this difficult time,” the company states on its website.
