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Review
. 2022 Jul-Aug:16:101074.
doi: 10.1016/j.cegh.2022.101074. Epub 2022 Jun 8.

The use of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19: Panacea or enigma?

Helen Onyeaka  1 , Phemelo Tamasiga  2 , Joy O Agbara  3 , Oreneile Anikie Mokgwathi  4 , Olivier Uwishema  5   6   7
Affiliations
Review

The use of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19: Panacea or enigma?

Helen Onyeaka et al. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2022 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has triggered unprecedented social, economic and health challenges. To control and reduce the infection rate, countries employed non-pharmaceutical measures such as social distancing, isolation, quarantine, and the use of masks, hand and surface sanitisation. Since 2021 a global race for COVID-19 vaccination ensued, mainly due to a lack of equitable vaccine production and distribution. To date, no treatments have been demonstrated to cure COVID-19. The scientific World is now considering the potential use of Ivermectin as a prophylactic and treatment for COVID-19. Against this background, the objective of this study is to review the literature to demystify the enigma or panacea in the use of Ivermectin. This paper intends to investigate literature which supports the existence or shows the nonexistence of a causal link between Ivermectin, COVID-19 mortality and recovery. There are inconsistent results on the effectiveness of Ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Some studies have asserted that in a bid to slow down the transmission of COVID-19, ivermectin can be used to inhibit the in vitro replication of SARS-CoV-2. The pre-existing health system burdens can be alleviated as patients treated prophylactically would reduce hospital admissions and stem the spread of COVID-19. On a global scale, Ivermectin is currently used by about 28% of the world's population, and its adoption is presently about 44% of countries. However, the full administration of this drug would require further tests to establish its clinical effectiveness and efficacy.

Keywords: COVID-19; Ivermectin; Prophylactic; SARS-CoV-2.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Analysis of studies concerning the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19. Source: https://ivmmeta.com/
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Map showing the adoption of Ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment in the world. Source: Global Ivermectin adoption for COVID-19: 44% (ivmstatus.com)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
COVID-19 cases in Peru prior and post-administration of Ivermectin. Source: Review of the Emerging Evidence Demonstrating the Efficacy of Ivermectin in the Prophylaxis and Treatment of COVID-19. [75]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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