Chloroquine phosphate has been touted as a possible cure for coronavirus, but is it safe to ingest? Medical experts are warning people against ingesting any sort of medication or chemical, including chloroquine phosphate, without the explicit approval of a doctor. In fact, a man recently died and his wife is in critical care after they ingested chloroquine phosphate, a chemical found in aquarium fish tank cleaner products.

In a press release by Banner Health, a non-profit health care system in Arizona, medical experts shared the horror story as a form of warning for those who are looking to consume drugs as an apparent antidote for chloroquine.

The press release reads in part, “A man has died and his wife is under critical care after the couple, both in their 60s, ingested chloroquine phosphate, an additive commonly used at aquariums to clean fish tanks. Within thirty minutes of ingestion, the couple experienced immediate effects requiring admittance to a nearby Banner Health hospital.”

Dr. Daniel Brooks, Banner Poison and Drug Information Center medical director, said, “Given the uncertainty around COVID-19, we understand that people are trying to find new ways to prevent or treat this virus, but self-medicating is not the way to do so. The last thing that we want right now is to inundate our emergency departments with patients who believe they found a vague and risky solution that could potentially jeopardize their health.”

Dr. Brooks added, “We are strongly urging the medical community to not prescribe this medication to any non-hospitalized patients.”

As several publications have noted, chloroquine phosphate is the same drug used to treat fish tanks and prevent infections in pet fish. Bids for fish tank cleaners with chloroquine phosphate as an ingredient have skyrocketed in recent days, even though manufacturers have warned people against consuming the chemical.

Samuel Oakford, who works for Storyful (a media intelligence agency), tweeted of the phenomenon, “At @Storyful, we found an interesting phenomenon: sales of a version of chloroquine phosphate used in fish tanks – yes, fish tanks – have skyrocketed in recent weeks. Jars of the drug not intended for human consumption have gone from $10 to over $400 or higher this month.”