WHO warns against use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients
A similar warning has also been issued by 'ivermectin' manufacturer MSD, or Merck & Co., Inc, whose statement Dr Swaminathan attached to her tweet.
FollowThe World Health Organisation has recommended against using Ivermectin to treat patients with coronavirus disease but the anti-parasitic medicine is widely prescribed by doctors in India for the same.
"Safety and efficacy are important when using any drug for a new indication. WHO recommends against use of 'ivermectin' for COVID-19 except within clinical trials," Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the global health body's chief scientist, tweeted.
A similar warning has also been issued by 'ivermectin' manufacturer MSD, or Merck & Co., Inc, whose statement Dr Swaminathan attached to her tweet. Merck said its scientists continue to "carefully examine findings of all available and emerging studies of 'ivermectin' for treatment of Covid-19".
"...to-date, our analysis has identified: No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against Covid-19 from pre-clinical studies; No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or efficacy in patients with Covid-19 disease, and; A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies," it said.
The Goa state government on Monday (10 May) cleared a new Covid treatment protocol which recommends all residents above the age of 18 to take five tablets of the ivermectin drug, in order to prevent the steep and sometimes fatal viral fever, which accompanies a Covid-19 infection.
Rane, while speaking to reporters, said that the ivermectin drug would be made available at all health centres in the state and should be taken by all residents, irrespective of whether they have Covid-19 symptoms or otherwise.
Last week, a peer-reviewed research had claimed that global ivermectin use can end Covid-19 pandemic, as the medicine significantly reduces the risk of contracting the deadly respiratory disease when used regularly.
The peer review, which included three US government senior scientists and was published in the American Journal of Therapeutics, touted the common anti-parasitic ivermectin as a miracle cure for Covid-19 by doctors and campaigners the world over.
In India, the drug is a part of clinical guidance for management of adult Covid patients that was jointly released by Union health ministry, and Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Covid Task Force last month.
As per the guidance, Ivermectin is advised for patients with mild Covid-19 disease under therapies based on low certainty of evidence.
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