If you understand how quinine kills the malaria protozoa and how a virus replicates then it makes complete sense that quinine works.
The reason malaria is so difficult to cure is that the malaria parasite first pokes a hole in a cell’s outer membrane, then sucks out the contents of the cell and then uses the hole to enter the leftover cell membrane. It then wears the cell membrane as camouflage while it goes after the next cell. The body’s antibodies and macrophages don’t attack it because they see it as one of their own. Quinine breaks down damaged cell membranes so it removes the camouflage and the white blood cells, antibodies and macrophages can then attack it.
When the covid-19 virus attacks a cell, it enters it and uses it to replicate while protected inside the cell. Antibodies and phages can only kill the virus outside of the cell. In entering the cell, the cell membrane has minor damage at the virus entry point, the quinine breaks down the damaged cell membrane before the virus can replicate and with the cell membrane compromised, antibodies, white blood cells and macrophages can get at the viruses and destroy them.
Quinine is the perfect medicine for this.
Incredibly crafty by the malaria protozoa. I didn’t realize that was its method.
RE quinine and COVID-19, I thought it helped get zinc into the cell which disrupted viral replication. You’re saying that’s not the case, that it’s really about breaking down the cell wall so the virus is exposed to white blood cells, etc?