Of the many medications being touted as a treatment for Covid-19, a drug called ivermectin is on the way to becoming the one with the most interesting story.
There have been several claims that the drug is helpful. And its effectiveness is being studied by the National Institutes of Health. But it has neither been formally approved as a treatment for Covid-19, nor as something that would prevent the infection.
However, ivermectin, which is typically used to treat parasitic worms, head lice and other conditions, has two markets. One is for people and requires a prescription, but the other is for large animals like horses and cows. Unfortunately, a few people in Mississippi have been using the animal version — with predictable results.
The Mississippi Department of Health reports that 70% of recent calls to its poison control center involve people who had a bad reaction after taking animal versions of ivermectin that they bought at livestock stores.
As of Monday, no one who took the animal medication has been hospitalized. Potential symptoms include rash, nausea, vomiting and intestinal pain. More serious possibilities are neurologic disorders and a form of hepatitis that requires hospitalization.
The state epidemiologist said what people, frankly, ought to know already: People shouldn’t take medicine that’s intended for large animals — even in a pandemic. Medication for horses and cows is dangerous for humans.
