Flywheel
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- May 11, 2009
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DURBAN - South African epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist Professor Salim Abdool Karim has warned against the administering of Ivermectin in the treatment of Covid patients. In an interview with IOL on Tuesday, Karim said current evidence with Ivermectin is seriously inadequate for Ivermectin to be prescribed for Covid-19.
"The Ivermectin available in South Africa is for animal use only. It would be professional misconduct for any doctor to prescribe it and any pharmacist to dispense it," he said. Karim, who heads up the Ministerial Health Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19, said until more robust evidence was made available, the routine use of Ivermectin either for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 was not justified.
In a statement by the MAC, Karim said emerging evidence must be actively sought and carefully reviewed. "Reports of clinical trials of Ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 must be closely watched, as they become available. As always, reports in peer-reviewed publications will be preferred.
“Effective messaging needs to be developed to communicate both to the general public and to health professionals that the use of unregulated products purporting to contain Ivermectin is risky and unethical at this stage. Unregulated distribution channels are at risk of the introduction of sub-standard and falsified products, which can be deleterious to human health," he said.
Last week, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said Ivermectin was not indicated or approved by the authority for use in humans.
The drug, which has been dubbed as a Covid-19 "miracle cure" is a widely used drug for the treatment and control of parasites in animals and is used to treat several tropical diseases in humans not commonly seen in South Africa, as well as scabies and head lice.
www.iol.co.za
"The Ivermectin available in South Africa is for animal use only. It would be professional misconduct for any doctor to prescribe it and any pharmacist to dispense it," he said. Karim, who heads up the Ministerial Health Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19, said until more robust evidence was made available, the routine use of Ivermectin either for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 was not justified.
In a statement by the MAC, Karim said emerging evidence must be actively sought and carefully reviewed. "Reports of clinical trials of Ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 must be closely watched, as they become available. As always, reports in peer-reviewed publications will be preferred.
“Effective messaging needs to be developed to communicate both to the general public and to health professionals that the use of unregulated products purporting to contain Ivermectin is risky and unethical at this stage. Unregulated distribution channels are at risk of the introduction of sub-standard and falsified products, which can be deleterious to human health," he said.
Last week, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said Ivermectin was not indicated or approved by the authority for use in humans.
The drug, which has been dubbed as a Covid-19 "miracle cure" is a widely used drug for the treatment and control of parasites in animals and is used to treat several tropical diseases in humans not commonly seen in South Africa, as well as scabies and head lice.
Experts weigh in on use of Ivermectin in treatment of Covid-19
According to Professor Salim Abdool Karim, simply put, Ivermectin is not safe for human consumption. He said in SA, Ivermectin is available for animal use only.
www.iol.co.za
