Ivermectin Pure 100ml Liquid. Deworming Anti-parasite: People, Animals & PetsI

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic medication. Parasitic infestations in humans include head lice, scabies, river blindness (onchocerciasis), strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis, and lymphatic filariasis.^{[6][8][9][10]} In veterinary medicine, the medication is used to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis, among other indications.^[9] Ivermectin works through many mechanisms of action that result in the death of the targeted parasites;^[6] it can be taken by mouth or applied to the skin for external infestations.^[6][11] The drug belongs to the avermectin family of medications.^[6]

Ivermectin was discovered in 1975 and first marketed as a veterinary medicine in 1981.^[12] Human applications followed in the late 1980s.^[13] William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for its discovery and applications.^[14] The medication is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines,^[15] and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an antiparasitic agent.^[16] In 2018, ivermectin was the 420th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than one hundred thousand prescriptions.^[17] It is available as a generic medicine.^[18][19]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation has been widely spread claiming that ivermectin is beneficial for treating and preventing COVID-19.^[20][21] Such claims are not backed by credible scientific evidence.^[22][23] Research into its use is ongoing, and multiple major health organizations, including the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the European Medicines Agency, and the World Health Organization have stated that ivermectin is not authorized or approved to treat COVID-19.

Medical use

Ivermectin is used to treat human diseases caused by roundworms and ectoparasites.

Worm infections

For river blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis, ivermectin is typically given as part of mass drug administration campaigns that distribute the drug to all members of a community affected by the disease.^[24] For river blindness, a single oral dose of ivermectin (150 micrograms per kilogram of body weight) clears the body of larval Onchocerca volvulus worms for several months, preventing transmission and disease progression.^[24] Adult worms survive in the skin and eventually recover to produce larval worms again; to keep the worms at bay, ivermectin is given at least once per year for the 10–15-year lifespan of the adult worms.^[25] For lymphatic filariasis, oral ivermectin (200 micrograms per kilogram body weight) is part of a combination treatment given annually: ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole in places without onchocerciasis; and ivermectin and albendazole in places with onchocerciasis.^{[26][note 1]}

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers ivermectin the drug of choice for strongyloidiasis.^[28] Most cases are treated with two daily doses of oral ivermectin (200 μg per kg body weight), while severe infections are treated with five to seven days of ivermectin.^[24] Ivermectin is also the primary treatment for Mansonella ozzardi and cutaneous larva migrans.^[29][30] The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends ivermectin, albendazole, or mebendazole as treatments for ascariasis.^{[31][note 2]} Ivermectin is sometimes added to albendazole or mebendazole for whipworm treatment, and is considered a second-line treatment for gnathostomiasis.^[30][35]

Mites and insects

Ivermectin is also used to treat infection with parasitic arthropods. Scabies – infestation with the mite Sarcoptes scabiei – is most commonly treated with topical permethrin or oral ivermectin. For most scabies cases, ivermectin is used in a two dose regimen: a first dose kills the active mites, but not their eggs. Over the next week, the eggs hatch, and a second dose kills the newly hatched mites.^[36][37] For severe "crusted scabies", the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends up to seven doses of ivermectin over the course of a month, along with a topical antiparasitic.^[37] Both head lice and pubic lice can be treated with oral ivermectin, an ivermectin lotion applied directly to the affected area, or various other insecticides.^[38][39] Ivermectin is also used to treat rosacea and blepharitis, both of which can be caused or exacerbated by Demodex folliculorum mites.