While there is no vaccine or specific treatment for Covid-19, doctors in Mumbai said they have successfully cured patients with a combination of drugs used for swine flu, malaria and HIV. However, doctors have cautioned against the use of drugs without medical supervision.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in March approved the use of Tamiflu (oseltamivir or Fluvir), an antiviral used in treatment of swine flu; hydroxychloroquine, a medicine used to prevent and treat malaria and anti-HIV drug Lopinavir for treatment of Covid-19 patients. Doctors said the treatment protocol of a few cured patients shows the combination works.

One cured patient is a 45-year-old resident of Madanpura with a travel history from Delhi, who was admitted to Kasturba Hospital with complaints of fever, cold, dry cough and bodyache on March 21. The patient had hypertension. He was treated with hydroxychloroquine. Along with that, he was given multivitamin tablets and antibiotics like azithromycin and cetirizine. The patient responded to the medicines and tested negative for the virus in two consecutive swab test reports. He was discharged from the hospital on March 31.

Another combination was tried for a 69-year-old Andheri resident, who along with her husband, was among the first patients in Mumbai to be diagnosed with Covid-19 on March 11. The woman was admitted with her 70-year-old husband in Kasturba Hospital on March 10. She had cough, fever, mild breathlessness and loss of appetite. The couple had a travel history to Dubai. She was a patient of diabetes and hypertension. She was given tablet omez for acidity for 10 days, antibiotic levoflox (500mg), along with medicines for her preexisting conditions. For her breathing problem, she was given Duolin neb as her airways were congested because of the infection.

However, her husband who had developed fluid in his right lung due to pneumonia needed more time to recover. He was administered with the same three-drug combination his wife received, but for his pneumonia, he was given 4.45gm of Piptaz injections (antibiotics) with a diabetes diet. Eventually, he also recovered and the couple was discharged from the hospital on March 24.