The FDA is reminding Americans they are not livestock, amid a rise in poison-control calls from people suffering side effects after taking a horse and cow de-wormer to supposedly treat COVID-19.
“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it,” the federal Food and Drug Administration tweeted Saturday along with a link to an article titled “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19.”
Ivermectin is approved for both humans and animals, but animal drugs are concentrated at levels that can be highly toxic for humans. The FDA has no data proving ivermectin’s use as a COVID treatment, the article said.
The Mississippi Poison Control Center on Friday reported an “increasing number of calls” from individuals who took ivermectin meant for animals and ended up with symptoms such as rash, nausea and vomiting.
At least 70 percent of calls to the state poison-control center were from individuals who had ingested ivermectin from livestock supply centers, officials said in a statewide alert.
“There are approved uses for ivermectin in both people and animals,” state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said in a statement. “Patients should be advised to not take any medications intended to treat animals and should be instructed to only take ivermectin as prescribed by their physician.”
Of the people who called into poison control, 85 percent experienced mild symptoms, though one was instructed to seek evaluation due to the amount of the drug consumed.
No hospitalizations from ivermectin toxicity had been reported to state officials.