CDC alerts clinicians to surge in ivermectin poisoning during pandemic

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday alerted health care providers and the public to reports of severe illness associated with using products containing ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. While ivermectin is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat infections caused by parasites, it is not authorized or approved to prevent or treat COVID-19. Dispensing of ivermectin by retail pharmacies and calls to poison control centers involving the drug have increased sharply during the pandemic, however. In some cases, people have ingested products purchased without a prescription, including topical formulations and veterinary products, CDC said. Clinical effects of ivermectin poisoning can range from gastrointestinal symptoms to hypotension and neurological effects.