A controversial drug that can supposedly treat COVID-19 is back in the headlines. A Malaysian study using ivermectin on patients with COVID-19 proves ivermectin ineffective. The study enrolled 490 patients with mild to moderate illness at 20 hospitals and a COVID-19 quarantine center in Malaysia.
Ivermectin was in the news last year when some politicians insisted that the drug should be allowed for public use. The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) previously stated its opposition to using ivermectin to treat COVID-19.
What Is Ivermectin?
A study published in 2000 said ivermectin is a drug that many people will never have heard of. In 1981, ivermectin was brought to the commercial marketplace for multi-purpose use in animal health. By 1987, it was registered for human use. The study said ivermectin “improved the lives and productivity of billions of humans, livestock, and pets around the globe.”
Ivermectin belongs to a class of drugs known as antihelmintics. Ivermectin is a derivative of avermectin B and is administered orally. It is a pesticide that kills microfilariae in animals. Ivermectin was also used to treat onchocerciasis or “river blindness” caused by black flies.
The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic saw many scrambling for remedies to treat the disease. Some turned to ivermectin with little evidence to prove that it worked.
Malaysian Study Results
Dr. Rontgene Solante of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID) says there are now enough studies now to recommend not using ivermectin on COVID-19 patients.
“In this randomized clinical trial of high-risk patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, ivermectin treatment during early illness did not prevent progression to severe disease. The study findings do not support the use of ivermectin for patients with COVID-19,” read the study. The JAMA Network published a copy last Friday.
“It significantly tells us that ivermectin doesn’t work and is not effective in the prevention of severe infection or severe COVID among those who will be getting this treatment,” Solante told ABS-CBN News. “That’s an indication (that) we don’t need ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.”
Ivermectin Against COVID-19?
The US FDA released their findings last year after receiving multiple reports of patients who required medical attention after using ivermectin. These people self-medicated with ivermectin intended for livestock and some ended up hospitalized.
The same FDA warned that they have not authorized or approved the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 in humans or animals. To treat infections caused by parasitic worms, head lice, and skin conditions, ivermectin was approved for human use.
The Philippines FDA granted Compassionate Special Permits (CSP) to several hospitals to use ivermectin in treating COVID-19 patients. PSMID Philippine COVID-19 Living Clinical Practice Guidelines previously discouraged using ivermectin for that purpose. The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) clarified that only registered oral and intravenous ivermectin products are for animal medication.
