Calls about animal dewormer as COVID treatment soar in Texas, poison center says

The Texas Poison Center Network has received dozens of calls this month about people exposed to ivermectin, an animal dewormer some are using for COVID-19 treatment.

But the drug, which is flying off the shelves in many parts of the United States, is not a suitable treatment and health organizations are warning against its improper use.

Among them is the Texas Poison Center, which has received 55 calls this month from people exposed to ivermectin. The center took 48 such calls in all of 2020.

Of the 150 people who have called the center this year regarding exposure to the drug, 54 said they intentionally misused it.

Common side effects of the drug are allergic reactions, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hypotension, the center said.

“Patients who take concentrated forms that are used for large animals like horses and cows are more likely to experience severe side effects and toxicity,” Texas Poison Center said in a statement to McClatchy News. “Accidental poisonings in children may also occur when this medication is kept in the home and is improperly stored. As a result, the Texas Poison Center Network does not encourage the use of ivermectin outside of its intended use.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization have all also advised against using ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 outside controlled clinical trials, McClatchy News reported earlier this month.

A large dose of ivermectin intended for a horse could cause a human to have complications that include “low blood pressure, rapid heart rates, seizures” along with damage to the liver and layers of skin falling off, Dr. Shane Speights, site dean at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, told KAIT8.

Some Idaho doctors are prescribing the drug to treat and prevent COVID-19, going against federal recommendations, the Idaho Statesman reported. Like in Texas, Mississippi Poison Control has received an increase in people reporting ivermectin ingestion, according to the Sun Herald.

And in Missouri, the mayor of a small town said he would give his longtime friend hospitalized with COVID-19 the anti-parasite drug as a last-ditch effort, The Kansas City Star reported.

“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it,” the FDA tweeted last weekend.

Misconceptions about ivermectin’s effectiveness spread when a non-peer-reviewed paper said it could lower COVID-19 death rates by more than 90%, McClatchy News reported. That study was later withdrawn from the website due to reports of plagiarism and alleged data manipulation.

Fox News personalities Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham have all mentioned the drug as a possible treatment despite federal organizations warning against its use, CNN reported.

“It’s the new hydroxychloroquine,” Mississippi Medical Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said during a recent press conference, the Sun Herald reported. “Internet alchemists have decided this is the cure, but there’s no data to show for it.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Calls about animal dewormer as COVID treatment soar in Texas, poison center says."