Ivermectin: Killer drug or miracle cure?

As third wave-driven Covid is set to intensify in the coming weeks in South Africa, the use of ivermectin as a drug to cure the globally spreading virus has been brought back to the mix.

Yesterday, SA Medical Association president Dr Angelique Coetzee yesterday conceded the subject has divided the medical profession into two.

While some have championed its use, others have levelled criticism at the drug, claiming ivermectin – meant for animals – offered no benefits to humans.

Two people pushing the pro-ivermectin campaign – Cape Town-based family physician Dr EV Rapiti and Dr Pinky Ngcakani-Ncula of Port Elizabeth – have taken to social media to justify the benefits to humans.

Said Rapiti: “In my 45 years as a doctor, I have never come across a virus as deadly as Covid. I was pleasantly surprised to discover during my research on Covid that ivermectin has an 80% success rate and zero deaths.”

Sceptical about the impact of ivermectin, Dr Emmanuel Taban, a pulmonologist at the Mediclinic Midstream in Midrand, has claimed that two out of every three patients being admitted at the hospital were taking ivermectin. He said it offered no benefits.

In his response, Professor Nathi Mdladla, head of department at intensive care unit at the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital and Sefako Makgatho University said: “I have treated more than 200 Covid outpatients, including relatives, friends and their contacts.

“Between myself and other colleagues who’ve been managing outpatient Covid with ivermectin, we have thousands of
patients with very few who have progressed to hospitalisation and even fewer who had liver failure as claimed by Dr Taban.

“We are the only academic institution currently treating Covid patients with ivermectin in the third wave and getting phenomenal results.”

But Tygerberg Hospital infectious disease specialist and University of Stellenbosch academic Dr Jantjie Taljaard said: “The fact that studies have shown that ivermectin is not effective in preventing Covid, coupled with the potential for less precautions taken by those on ivermectin, due to a false perception of protection, may lead to increased risk for infections in this group.

“The side-effects of animal products are often associated with other impurities in theproduct, rather than the active
ingredient. The active substance can, however, be toxic if a too high a dosage is taken.”

University of Cape Town professor Heather Zar of the department of paediatrics and child health at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, said: “There was a recently published meta-analysis of all the ivermectin studies.

“This reported a reduction in mortality on people using ivermectin, as well as quicker viral cure and reduction in inflammatory markers.

“I think there is a cumulating data on the efficacy and the effectiveness of ivermectin. Of course, these trials are limited and all small – different doses and different durations.

“But this meta-analysis is very encouraging, with the better analysis having been conducted by Andrew Hill – showing no impact in terms of hospitalisation.

“Ivermectin use reduced substantially the mortality on a 56% rate and reduced the time spent in hospital.”

Describing it as “a very touchy subject, with half of the doctors being followers of ivermectin”, Coetzee said: “You have half of the doctors being followers of ivermectin and the other half are not.

“Due to lack of proper studies done in South Africa, as per the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority recommendation and guidelines, it becomes extremely difficult to claim two out of three patients admitted to hospital took ivermectin.

“It can be that they took a wrong ivermectin or a wrong dosage, or they did not need to take it. The question is how they took it and what the indications were.”

– brians@citizen.co.za