FDA Issues Stern Warning On Use Of Ivermectin In Covid-19 Treatment

Ivermectin is not an antiviral drug, but has been suggested as a drug to help treat covid-19 during the pandemic.

New Delhi: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US nodal agency, has issued a strong warning against the use of ivermectin as a drug in the prevention and treatment of covid-19.

Earlier, the anti-parasite drug was said to reduce the risk of death of hospitalised Covid-19 patients by up to 80 percent. This was claimed by Dr. Andrew Hill, a geologist at Leverbridge University, to treat Covid-19. He also described the drug 'ivermectin as 'transformative' in the fight against the coronavirus.

However, other scientists suspected the discovery and asked for more data before using it as a potential treatment. Now, the FDA has issued a strong warning against the use of ivermectin.

FDA Issues Stern Warning Against Ivermectin

FDA in a statement said: "Ivermectin is not recommended to treat covid-19 patients. The drug is not approved for the prevention of corona symptoms in humans."

FDA also made strong comments against the use of Ivermectin in Mississippi, a state badly affected by the corona pandemic in the US.

"Many people were found using the drug to treat viral diseases. The drug is recognized as the only anti-parasitic treatment for humans and animals such as cows and horses, but increased demand for the drug has become a concern for Mississippi's Poison Control Center."  

The drug developed for humans is different from the drug made for cattle as animals are given the medicine in high doses. 

According to FDA, excessive use of Ivermectin can also cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, allergies, dizziness, seizures, coma, and death.

The state's Poison Control Centre reported that at least two people had to be hospitalized for possible poisoning from Ivermectin after swallowing the pill developed for animals.

People's interest in medicine has increased in recent times as corona's delta variant has caused an increase in covid-19 transmission rate and has also raised concerns about infection among vaccinated people. The agency says that ivermectin is used in the form of a pill against parasitic worms in humans.

The second form of ivermectin is used to treat parasites in horses and cows and as a medicine to treat heartworm in dogs. The drug is used locally for lice and skin problems such as rosacea.