Dr. Huerta: Ivermectin gives people false security 1:33
(CNN) -
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory Thursday warning doctors and people about the "rapid rise" of prescriptions for the antiparasitic drug ivermectin.
The CDC also warns of an increase in reports from the poison centers of serious illnesses caused by the drug.
Ivermectin is used to treat parasites such as worms and lice in humans and is also used by veterinarians to deworm large animals.
For months, conservative media, including Fox News anchors Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, have talked about how it could be used to treat COVID-19.
It is a popular topic on Twitter.
Ivermectin has been called a "miracle drug" in Congressional hearings.
Even Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson has been touting its benefits for curing Covid-19.
Right-wing media promoted ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug, to treat COVID-19.
FDA says it's not safe for humans
Typically, about 3,600 prescriptions for ivermectin are written in a week, the CDC said.
This more than tenfold in the week of January 8, when 39,000 recipes were written.
advertising
"Since early July 2021, outpatient ivermectin dispensing has started to increase rapidly, reaching more than 88,000 prescriptions in the week ending August 13, 2021. This represents a 24-fold increase from baseline pre-pandemic, "the CDC said.
GoodRx, a company that tracks drug prices, has seen a similar sharp rise in prescriptions for ivemectin.
According to the company's data for August, they have so far seen 20 times the average level than in 2019.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned people not to use ivermectin to treat COVID-19.
Last Saturday, the FDA tweeted: "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, everyone. Enough."
Calls to poison control centers have tripled, compared to the number of calls about the drug before the pandemic, the CDC said.
A Senior Republican National Committee Official in Florida Spreads Covid-19 Conspiracies, Calling Vaccines the "Mark of the Beast"
Some examples of these calls included an adult who wanted to prevent COVID-19 and had to be hospitalized for nine days after drinking a cattle formula.
Another person who bought pills online to treat his Covid-19 infection was hospitalized after taking five tablets a day for five days.
The CDC reminded doctors that ivermectin is not licensed or approved for use in COVID-19 patients.
Doctors investigated the possibility, but clinical trials of the drug "yielded insufficient evidence" to treat COVID-19.
Scientists would need to conduct more clinical trials to see if it really worked to treat the disease.
Overdoses of the drug can cause stomach problems, nerve damage, seizures, disorientation, coma, and death.
ANALYSIS |
What the ivermectin debacle reveals about anti-vaccine hypocrisy
The CDC advisory reminded people that vaccination rather than treatment "is the safest and most effective way to prevent getting sick and protect against serious illness and death" from COVID-19.
Covid-19
