Push for invermectin to combat Covid-19
By Abolaji Adebayo
With 1,302 ,410 tested and 130,557 confirmed cases, the rate at which the Covid-19 virus is spreading is indicated by the figures from the National Centre for Disease Control which put active cases at 25,267 and death at 1,578 as at Sunday, January 31, this year.
The official figures is considered a far cry from the actual rate of deaths from the virus because of the poor death recording system, doctors interviewed by Echonews said.
The rate at which the new wave of Covid-19 kills people on daily basis is worrying doctors and other medical professionals who are now certain that the virus seems more intelligent than the army of the scientists striving to rein in its devastation on humanity.
“This virus is ahead of all of us because the rate at which it is mutating and invading human organs is unprecedented” says Dr. Olatunde Olusunmade of Estate Clinic, Ejigbo. “Oxygen level is one of the indicators of its impact on the respiratory system. While a normal blood oxygen level varies between 80 and 100 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). A blood oxygen level below 70 mm Hg is considered low. Yet this virus, at 70, continues to mislead the brain that the body has sufficient oxygen, giving the brain little time to act before the person gives up the ghost. This is what we call the happy hypoxia in medical science.”
But virologists are not giving up. In line with the saying that the way the bird learns how to perch, the hunter will have to learn how to shoot, new researches into old drugs to explore their potential to inhibit the viral activity of COVID-19 has led to the application of old drugs used to cure other ailments to the treatment of coronavirus.
The first popular drug in this category was chloroquine used for the cure of malaria. However, according to the investigations of Echonews, the new drug making the waves is Invermectin.
Produced as tiny tablets with five as a single dose believed to be able to prevent coronavirus for a year, invermectin is an antiparasitic used in the treatment of river blindness and lice. The drug is now becoming relevant to serve as remedy just as Chloroquine was initially embraced to combat the virus when it first broke.
When Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine (CQ), an aminoquinoline used for many years for the prophylaxis and therapy of malaria and autoimmune diseases, was put forward as a treatment option, regulatory authorities warned against the use..
Meanwhile, going by the velocity at which the new coronavirus kills, there are calls for its urgent treatment.
With this situation, Nigerians are embracing the use of Invermectin while waiting for the federal government’s ordered vaccine.
According to the World Health Organisation, Ivermectin was originally produced in the 1980s as a veterinary drug used largely for nematode control in cattle, horses, pigs, and dogs and became the standard for control of the ectoparasitic disease such as scabies. It soon became the world’s most profitable veterinary drug.
Since then, Ivermectin has been used on humans for controlling strongyloidiasis, a human pathogenic parasitic roundworm causing the disease strongyloidiasis
In Nigeria, it has been used to treat worms, according to a pharmacists who spoke to ECHONEWS.
“Originally it’s a worm expeller (Antihelminthic) used in the elimination of parasitic worms from the body. They use it in combination with doxycycline. They also use Vitamin C in combination with Axrthromycin.”
However, more recently, the drug is now being used for the treatment of Covid-19 pushing demands for the drug high across pharmacies in Lagos.
Another pharmacist, Adeleye Ilori, explained that “it was one of the available free drugs dispensed to patients at clinics in Nigeria – for eliminating different types of worms from the body. People usually don’t buy it from pharmacies because of the low price, thinking it’s not good quality tabled for expelling worms. It was not expensive and almost cost next to nothing, but now it sells for as high as N200 per tablet.”
At N200 per tablet, a pack of 500 tablets could go for as high as N10,000.
Several social media reports point to the efficacy of the drug in “preventing and curing” Covid-19 but this is yet to be certified by the WHO.
The drug however came into the limelight after a Financial Times article claimed the drug had a chance of cutting covid-19 deaths by up to 75%.
The article was based on research published by the International Ivermectin Project Team led by the University of Liverpool lecturer Andrew Hill.
A Nigerian, Olufemi Emmanuel Babalola, from Bingham University/Lagos University, Nigeria is also part of the group.
The result of the research conducted by the group stated: “Ivermectin was associated with reduced inflammatory markers (C-Reactive Protein, d-dimer, and ferritin) and faster viral clearance by PCR. Viral clearance was treatment dose- and duration-dependent. Ivermectin showed significantly shorter duration of hospitalization compared to control. In six RCTs of moderate or severe infection, there was a 75% reduction in mortality (Relative Risk=0.25 [95%CI 0.12- 0.52]; p=0.0002); 14/650 (2.1%) deaths on ivermectin; 57/597 (9.5%) deaths in controls) with favorable clinical recovery and reduced hospitalization. “
Currently, the only other drug with the same level of worldwide unofficial approval for treatment of Covid-19 are Famotidine and Remdesivir, after they also showed an effect on improving recovery rate for Covid-19 patients.
With this, people have to make choice between waiting for government’s ordered vaccine and the available alternative.
More recently, the search for cures for Covid-19 has been overshadowed by vaccine breakthroughs across the world.
Just like the demand for chloroquine, zinc, and vitamin C soared in the first wave of Covid-19, demand for Ivermectin is rising along with its price.
Fortunately, Ivermectin is backed by research even though the researchers expressed caution as more trials need to be conducted.
“Despite the encouraging trend this existing data base demonstrates, it is not yet a sufficiently robust evidence base to justify the use or regulatory approval of ivermectin. However, the current paucity of high-quality evidence only highlights the clear need for additional, higher-quality and larger-scale clinical trials, warranted to investigate the use of ivermectin further.
“The maximum effective dose of ivermectin needs to be clarified and new clinical trials should use a consistent multi-day dosing regime, with at least 0.4mg/kg/day. The appropriate dose and schedule of ivermectin still requires evaluation and the current randomized clinical trials of ivermectin need to be continued until ready for rigorous review by regulatory agencies,” International Ivermectin Project Team.
Asides Ivermectin, Nigerians have also resorted to traditional medicine such as a beverage of lemongrass, dogonyaro leaves, garlic, ginger, and bitter kola to prevent and cure Covid-19.
