Brazil’s Science and Technology Ministry claimed on Monday that nitazoxanide, a drug for treating worms, is effective against Covid-19 when used in the early stages of the disease. But the disclosure of these findings has raised more than a few eyebrows.
Government officials presented a slide with the title “Scientifically proven: [nitazoxanide] reduces viral load,” alongside a decreasing bar chart.
Sem dados. Sem números. Sem parâmetros e sem respaldo da comunidade internacional.
— Samuel Pancher (@SamPancher) October 19, 2020
Parece verídico pic.twitter.com/lXdjUfyhvq
However, journalists found that the graph was taken from online image bank Shutterstock, originally entitled “Beautiful 3D animation of a downward bar chart following the arrow trading on the stock exchange.”
EU SABIA que era de banco de imagens. @SamPancher, pega esta comprovação científica aqui:
— Leonardo Lopes (@leonardo1opes) October 19, 2020
Obrigado @and_wolf por ajudar a achar o vídeo original. https://t.co/sXZgBTkTmy pic.twitter.com/Rwlhkpx431
The discovery led critics to doubt the reliability of the study and compare nitazoxanide to hydroxychloroquine — an antimalarial drug with no proven effect against the coronavirus, but touted by President Jair Bolsonaro as a “possible cure” against Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Patrícia Rocco, the study’s coordinator, said that the drug “caused a significant reduction in viral load” when compared to a placebo.
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