19 Infection: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Trial Sequential Analysis to Inform Clinical Guidelines

https://futurism.com/neoscope/anti-parasitic-drug-kills-coronavirus-cell-cultures-48-hours


A team of Australian researchers at Monash University in Melbourne have found that Ivermectin — an FDA-approved anti-parasitic drug that has been used to effectively fight viruses including HIV, Influenza, and Zika — was able to stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from growing in cell cultures.

While promising, the drug has yet to be shown to have the same effect inside the human body, because the Australian research was conducted “in vitro,” meaning it was in a Petri dish at a lab. The researchers are still trying to nail down funding for pre-clinical testing and clinical trials, after which they’d have to start the long approval process for the trials themselves.

The results, though, are promising. In just 48 hours, the scientists say, all genetic material of the virus was eradicated.

“We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it,” Kylie Wagstaff, lead researcher and co-author of the study published today in Antiviral Research, said in a statement.

“Ivermectin is very widely used and seen as a safe drug,” Wagstaff said. “We need to figure out now whether the dosage you can use it at in humans will be effective — that’s the next step.”

“As the virologist who was part of the team who were first to isolate and share SARS-COV2 outside of China in January 2020, I am excited about the prospect of Ivermectin being used as a potential drug against COVID-19,” Leon Caly, senior medical scientist at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) at the Doherty Institute, said.

A vaccine for COVID-19 is likely still at least a year out, despite research teams across the world fast tracking work on potential vaccines. But that doesn’t mean we’re doomed.

“In times when we’re having a global pandemic and there isn’t an approved treatment, if we had a compound that was already available around the world then that might help people sooner,” Wagstaff said in the statement. “Realistically it’s going to be a while before a vaccine is broadly available.”


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Oops! I Just Took My Dog's Heartworm Medicine<br />

The Full Story

Sometimes new drugs are found in unusual places. The antiparasitic drug ivermectin was discovered in the 1970s in bacteria isolated from the soil on a Japanese golf course. Ivermectin was called the first "endectocide" since it was active against both endoparasites (parasites that live inside the host) and ectoparasites (parasites that live on the outside of the host).

Ivermectin was initially developed as a veterinary antiparasitic drug. Of particular importance today is ivermectin's ability to prevent heartworm infections in dogs with monthly dosing (e.g., Heartgard). Ivermectin has also protected hundreds of millions of livestock from a variety of parasites.

Ivermectin lotion is approved by the FDA for the treatment of head lice. Unlike many other treatments for head lice, ivermectin lotion only needs to be applied once. When given orally, ivermectin can be used for treating head or pubic lice and scabies (an itchy, highly contagious skin disease caused by mites burrowing in the skin). Oral ivermectin is useful to control outbreaks of scabies in nursing homes where whole-body application of topical agents is difficult.

Ivermectin's greatest impact on human health has been in Africa. Since 1987, in addition to its use for other parasitic infestations, ivermectin has been used extensively to control onchocerciasis with 1.4 billion treatments so far. Onchocerciasis is also called "river blindness" because the blackfly that transmits the disease breeds in fast-moving streams and rivers. Once within the body, the adult female worm produces thousands of juvenile worms that migrate to the skin and eyes and can produce severe itching and eye injury that can lead to blindness.

Ivermectin kills the juvenile worms, but not the adult females. The effectiveness of the drug lasts up to 12 months, but mature female worms produce offspring for 15 years, so ivermectin has to be taken once a year for that long.

Over 300 million people take ivermectin each year. To date, ivermectin has been shown to be a safe and well-tolerated drug. Most adverse reactions are mild and temporary, such as loss of appetite, headache, muscle aches, lack of energy, and fever. There have been a small number of severe adverse events and even some deaths in humans treated with ivermectin in onchocerciasis-control programs. The reason for these events is unknown, but they might be linked to the presence of large numbers of other parasites that are killed off in treated patients.

If you suspect someone has swallowed ivermectin, do not make the person vomit. Immediately check the webPOISONCONTROL® online tool for help or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.

When ivermectin gets in the eyes, minor irritation and redness can occur. Serious eye injury is not likely, but the eyes should be rinsed immediately. Remove contact lenses and use lots of room temperature water. For children, pour water onto the bridge of the nose and let it gently run into the eyes. Encourage blinking. After rinsing, call Poison Control or use the webPOISONCONTROL tool for help.

Mary Elizabeth May, RN, BA, MPH
Certified Specialist in Poison Information