The ethical dilemma of prescribing ivermectin against covid-19 2:47
(CNN Spanish) -
Ivermectin, a drug that is widely used in Latin America to fight the coronavirus, suffers a new setback.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) discouraged its use against the disease.
In this episode, Dr. Elmer Huerta explains the reasons behind the decision.
You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform, or read the transcript below.
Hello, I am Dr. Elmer Huerta and this is your daily dose of information about the new coronavirus.
Information that we hope will be useful to take care of your health and that of your family.
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Another setback for ivermectin
The news comes from Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, home of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which, in a document published on its website on March 22, makes a public health statement, endorsed by its Group of I work on the covid-19 pandemic, and that it advises against the use of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of covid-19.
According to the statement, the EMA reviewed the most recent evidence on the use of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of covid-19, and as we said, concludes that the available data does not support its use to treat this disease outside of clinical trials. well designed.
LOOK: What doctors say about ivermectin, an untested drug against covid-19 whose use has exploded in Latin America
The EMA recalls that, as throughout the world, ivermectin tablets are approved in the European Union to treat some infestations by parasitic worms, and skin diseases such as rosacea.
The agency also says that ivermectin is authorized for the treatment of infestations by internal and external parasites in various types of animals, but that no country in the Union has requested authorization from the EMA to use ivermectin in the treatment of covid-19 .
What does the US say about the use of ivermectin?
Already in the episode of January 14, we had reviewed the process that the National Institutes of Health of the United States had followed, which after reviewing the scientific reports and publications of laboratory studies, observational studies, clinical trials and meta-analyzes, had concluded that it did not there was evidence neither for nor against using ivermectin to treat or prevent covid-19.
Similarly, the EMA says in its statement that it has also reviewed scientific reports and publications of laboratory studies, observational studies, clinical trials and meta-analyzes, also concluding that there is no evidence that ivermectin can be used in the prevention or covid-19 treatment.
Let us remember that ivermectin is a drug that derives from a substance isolated in the early seventies, from soil samples in Japan and that it has the curious activity of being very active against two types of parasites: those that affect the interior of the organism and those that affect the exterior.
Ivermectin is very active against external parasites such as lice and mites that cause scabies, and is also very active against roundworms, including ascaris, very common in children and adults who live in poor hygiene conditions, and filariae and onchocercias, which cause elephantiasis and onchocerciasis, two highly debilitating diseases common to millions of people living in the poorest regions of Africa.
Why was ivermectin used against coronavirus?
Interest in ivermectin began on April 3, 2020, when in a pre-publication Australian scientist Kylie Wagstaff reported that by using a very high amount of ivermectin (approximately 100 times the commonly used dose), the medicine was able to prevent that SARS-CoV-2 entered a cell culture.
This is what is called an in-vitro study, that is, in a test tube.
Two weeks later, doctors from Bangladesh stated that they had managed to "cure" 98% of patients who received the combination of ivermectin and the antibiotic doxycycline, and it is important to clarify that the administration of these drugs was not part of a study and that more than 90 % of patients with covid-19 recover spontaneously, therefore there is the possibility that patients could have recovered without the consumption of these medicines.
Possibly motivated by the study by Dr. Wagstaff and the report from Bangladesh, and feeling the urgency to find effective medicines against the new coronavirus, is that doctors in Peru, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Mexico began to promote the use of ivermectin to prevention and treatment of covid-19.
In the following months, the use spread to almost all Latin American countries.
Why is it so popular in Latin America?
The rationale for using a medicine without scientific proof is based on that old saying that "if it has not been shown to work, it has not been shown that it does not."
Its use has been so popular in Latin America that it has been distributed by many politicians to thousands of people, trying to win popular favor, claiming that the drug, even veterinary use, can protect them from the virus.
Some speak that a cult or evangelization of ivermectin has been created, even originating conspiracy theories, in which it is affirmed that large laboratories oppose its use for fear of losing money in the sale of their medicines.
Unfortunately, its indiscriminate use has made people who take it feel protected, lower their guard, and become infected.
On the other hand, many other severely ill people delay their hospital visit, hoping that ivermectin will cure them.
In summary, both the US National Institutes of Health and the European Medicines Agency conclude that the currently available evidence is insufficient to support the use of ivermectin against COVID-19 outside of clinical trials.
Do you have questions about the coronavirus?
Send me your questions on Twitter, we will try to answer them in our next episodes.
You can find me at @Drhuerta.
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Thanks for your attention.
If you have any questions you can send them to Dr. Elmer Huerta through Twitter. You can also head over to CNNE.com/coronaviruspodcast for all episodes of our “Coronavirus: Reality vs. Reality” podcast. fiction".
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