Elon Musk describes what it was like to have a 'near fatal case' of malaria, and why he thinks the same medicine that worked on him could treat coronavirus
- Elon Musk opened up about contracting a potentially deadly form of malaria, saying he had a "near fatal case."
- Musk touted the drug used to treat his illness as a possible treatment for the novel coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19.
- "Would've died for sure if not for chloroquine," Musk said. "Doesn't mean it works for C19, but maybe better than nothing."
- Musk isn't a doctor, nor is he an expert on infectious diseases. While researchers are studying the effectiveness of using chloroquine to treat the coronavirus, it's not yet proven to work.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Elon Musk has opened up about contracting malaria in 2000, saying he had a "near fatal case" of the disease.
In several tweets on Monday night, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO described what happened when he contracted falciparum, a potentially fatal form of malaria that can affect the central nervous system or cause "acute respiratory distress," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Musk said he thinks a drug that was used to treat his illness would be effective in treating the novel coronavirus.
"Had near fatal case of falciparum," Musk tweeted. "Would've died for sure if not for chloroquine. Doesn't mean it works for C19, but maybe better than nothing."
He went on to say he was misdiagnosed twice before doctors discovered he had malaria.
Musk contracted the illness during a trip to Brazil and South Africa with his then wife Justine in December 2000, and it's one reason he famously no longer takes vacations.
"That's my lesson for taking a vacation," Musk said in the book "Elon Musk." "Vacations will kill you."
Testing existing drugs
The drug that Musk mentioned in his tweets, chloroquine, is typically used to treat malaria. But doctors have been testing its effectiveness in treating the novel coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19.
Researchers in Barcelona have been giving the drug to people who have been in close contact with coronavirus patients because studies have suggested it could prevent the virus from reproducing. Doctors in China are testing the drug on patients with the disease, and immunologists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation said they are testing chloroquine as well.
The drug has some side effects, including stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and in some cases, itching. More severe side effects include cardiac failure caused by cardiomyopathy when patients are treated long-term in high doses, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. Patients have also experienced central nervous system disorders, muscular weakness, anemia, and vision and hearing degeneration, according to the FDA.
Musk isn't a doctor, nor is he an expert on infectious diseases. While the drug is being tested and used to treat patients, there's currently no scientific proof of its effectiveness yet. Currently, there is no vaccine for coronavirus, though there are multiple vaccines undergoing clinical trials.
As of Tuesday, 185,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide, and 7,300 people have died. In the US, there have been cases reported in almost every state, and at least 92 coronavirus deaths have been confirmed.
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