By News Desk  @bactiman63

The Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on COVID-19 in South Africa released a memo recently concerning the use of ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.

Image/Alvaro1984 18

The use of ivermectin for the treatment of prevention of COVID-19 has generated significant global interest. The use of this repurposed medicine is being heavily promoted via social media.

Ivermectin is registered in South Africa in terms of the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act (Act 36 of 1947) for the treatment of parasites in animal. No ivermectin-containing medicine for human use is registered in South Africa.

MAC recommends  until more robust evidence is available, the routine use of ivermectin for either the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 is not justified.

Nonetheless, emerging evidence must be actively sought and carefully reviewed. Reports of clinical trials of ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 must be closely watched, as they become available. As always, reports in peer-reviewed publications will be preferred.

Effective messaging needs to be developed to communicate both to the general public and to health professionals that the use of unregulated products purporting to contain ivermectin is risky and unethical at this stage.

Unregulated distribution channels are at risk of the introduction of sub-standard and falsified products, which can be deleterious to human health.

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