"Anthelmintic Ivermectin Kills COVID-19 Virus in Two Days"…Experts Say "Clinical Trials Needed"

"Results from Cell Culture Experiments... Different from Clinical Trials"
Expert: "Need to Confirm Appropriate Dosage and Actual Effectiveness... Should Not Take Arbitrarily"

Anthelmintic Ivermectin / Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han, Intern Reporter Juhyung Lim] Research results have shown that the antiparasitic drug Ivermectin killed the 'SARS-CoV2' virus, the cause of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), within two days.

According to the US media 'Science Daily' on the 3rd (local time), researchers at Monash University in Australia recently conducted a cell culture experiment in which exposing the COVID-19 virus to Ivermectin resulted in the complete disappearance of all genetic material within 48 hours.

Dr. Kylie Wagstaff of the Monash Institute of Biomedical Discovery, who led the study, said in an interview with the media, "Even with a single dose of Ivermectin, the COVID-19 virus was significantly reduced after 24 hours and completely disappeared after 48 hours," adding, "However, this is a result from cell culture experiments and differs from clinical trials where the drug is administered directly to patients."

She also stated that the exact mechanism by which Ivermectin kills the COVID-19 virus is unknown, explaining, "Based on how Ivermectin acts on other viruses, the virus cannot weaken the host cell's defenses."

She added, "Ivermectin is an approved antiparasitic drug, but in vitro experiments have shown it to be effective against a wide range of viruses including AIDS, dengue fever, influenza, and Zika virus."

Professor Wagstaff said, "Ivermectin is already a safe medicine used in many places. We need to test whether Ivermectin is effective in humans as well. That is the next step of our experiment."

A study has been published showing that the antiparasitic drug Ivermectin is effective in eliminating the COVID-19 virus. / Photo by Australian media 7NEWS capture

The research results were published in the latest issue of 'Antiviral Research.'

According to the paper, Wagstaff's research team exposed cells infected with coronavirus for two hours to serially diluted Ivermectin. As a result, the RNA virus decreased by nearly 5,000 times within 48 hours.

The research team explained, "Administering effective antiviral drugs to patients in the early stages of COVID-19 infection can help control the viral load. This can prevent COVID-19 from progressing to a severe disease and suppress transmission to third parties."

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic ingredient that has a strong effect against intestinal parasites such as heartworms, roundworms, and hookworms, as well as external parasites like fleas. It is already used worldwide and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, confirming its safety for human use.

Meanwhile, experts emphasize that such drugs are still in the preliminary stage without clinical trials and should never be taken arbitrarily.

Jeon Byung-yul, former director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 6th and said, "So far, this is an experiment on cultured coronavirus cells and has not been applied to humans," adding, "Clinical trials administering Ivermectin directly to patients are needed to evaluate its virus-killing effect on COVID-19."

He continued, "When applying this (Ivermectin) to humans, it is still necessary to confirm the appropriate dosage and actual effectiveness," and warned, "This is not a medicine to be taken like Tylenol, so it should not be consumed."