TUCSON (KVOA) - As COVID-19 surges yet again, some people are turning to a drug more commonly found in feed stores than a pharmacy.
"Many of our guys in public safety have gotten COVID and they got Ivermectin and they recovered in 24-48 hours," said firefighter Mark Lytle.
However, claims like this have prompted the Food and Drug Administration to issue a warning about the drug.
Ivermectin is used as a de-wormer in livestock and to treat parasites in humans.
The FDA's website said, "It’s important to note that these products are different from the ones for people, and safe when used as prescribed for animals, only."
Despite the warning, feed stores, like OK Feed and Supply say they have seen an increase in Ivermectin sales.
"Typically we would only sell maybe 12 a month pre-COVID, but since COVID it slowly doubled then quadrupled and we're probably doing 60-70 a month now," said OK Feed and Supply Manager, Will Feurstock.
The box is clearly marked for use in animals up to 1250 pounds.
"We definitely don't recommend it for something it's not labeled for," Feurstock said.
Walt Klimecki, assistant professor at the University of Arizona's College of Veterinary Medicine cautions people against using a drug approved for use in livestock.
"Ivermectin is a drug with the potential to cause real harm, even death," Klimecki said. In humans, that potential can be even magnified by animal dosage forms which could have very high drug concentrations."
Banner Poison and Drug Information Center says it has seen an uptick in calls related to Ivermectin use.
Up to 10% of people using the prescription human-grade drug could experience side effects like skin rashes and GI upset, neurological events and liver damage. The livestock drug has not been studied in humans.
"This is incredibly foolish. and people are being incredibly naive and incredibly foolish about this," said Dr.Daniel Brooks, medical director of the Banner Poison and Drug Information Center. "People should not be taking livestock medication to prevent or treat COVID."
Ivermectin and its ability to treat or prevent Covid-19 is being studied in clinical settings. Doctors caution you should not use the drug until more is known.
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August 25, 2021 at 08:27AM
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Feed stores see uptick in sales of livestock dewormer for COVID-19 - KVOA Tucson News
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