Does ivermectin work against COVID-19? Some say yes

A group of doctors in Bangladesh applied a drug, used mainly for dermatological conditions such as scabies, on COVID-19 patients: ivermectin.

The doctors at Bangladesh Medical College, the first private medical college in the country, claim the drug that appears to inhibit the replication of the virus has reduced the symptoms of the COVID-19 patients by 50 percent in three days.

Ivermectin combined with an antibiotic, Doxycycline, was initially applied on some intern doctors at BMC from India’s Kashmir, who were diagnosed with the COVID-19 illness.

“We applied a single dose on five of them and they all recovered in three days. They later tested negative for the virus,” said Prof Tarek Alam, a doctor of internal medicine and respiratory diseases, who leads the clinical trial programme at BMC.

Ivermectin, a treatment for parasitic infections a Japanese microbiologist has helped develop, is gaining attention from researchers in some countries as a possible treatment for the new coronavirus. Ivermectin attacks nerve and other cells of parasites. It is not clear why it works against the coronavirus.

After four days of using the cocktail of drugs, the COVID-19 test results returned negative for the patients, according to Alam of BMC.

Ivermectin is a low-cost drug available in Bangladesh. The drug was developed based on findings by Kitasato University professor emeritus Satoshi Omura, for which he won the 2015 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. The Tokyo-based university recently announced plans to conduct a clinical trial.

Australian research has found that the drug could greatly inhibit the replication of the coronavirus, while the University of Utah has reported a marked improvement in survival rates among COVID-19 patients treated with ivermectin, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

Ivermectin, along with its parent compound, avermectin, are both extremely broad-spectrum antiparasitic agents. Ivermectin is among those few compounds, such as penicillin and aspirin, delineated as ‘wonder drugs’ -- all, incidentally, originating from natural products. It is also predominantly a drug for the poor.

The Bangladesh doctors used the ivermectin on interns in April, as they were getting ready to catch a special flight home to India, which was just seven days away.

“This drug kills the virus, but we are still unable to figure out how it does,” Alam said.

As of now, BMC has applied the medicine on 60 patients, including doctors, nurses, other hospital employees and their families.  At least 50 of them experienced reduced symptoms in 48 hours. Also, 25 of them tested negative while others were yet to undergo tests.

Almost 80 percent of COVID-19 patients recover without any treatment, said Dr Alam. The patients will test negative in 48 hours if they take the medicine.

“They won’t be able to spread the contagion among others.”

BMC Director Abdus Sabur has said he is hopeful of the clinical trial of the medicine.

“People are astonished to see that it is working. The mechanism is not known as of now, but we can use it as there is no specific treatment for COVID-19. It has no toxicity or side-effects. That’s proven.”

Prof Sabur suggested using the drug on patients in government hospitals as they are grappling with a large number of COVID-19 patients.

No patients with coronavirus symptoms were admitted to BMC, as it is not a hospital dedicated for COVID-19 treatment, Dr Alam said when asked if the guideline designed by the Directorate General of Health Services was followed in treating the patients.

“COVID-19 patients are the health workers here. Some of their family members also came here seeking treatment. We provided the treatment as a clinical trial and as a humanitarian act. The DGHS protocol is meant for the government hospitals treating the virus-infected patients,” he said.

Habibur Rahman Khan, additional secretary of the Health Services Division, said they heard about the issue and the health ministry will see if the medicine can be used for COVID-19 treatment.

“The trial should be done on more patients. It should be promoted if the drug is proving to be effective. The government always supports any good initiative.”

Now they will have to seek “ethical permission” from Bangladesh Medical Research Council and the Directorate General of Drug Administration, Khan said.