Dr Emmanuel Taban sounds ivermectin warning. Image via Facebook.
Ivermectin liver warning: Expert says COVID ‘remedy’ can be fatal
Dr Emmanuel Taban urges South Africans not to be misled by social media in regard to the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19.
Dr Emmanuel Taban sounds ivermectin warning. Image via Facebook.
Dr Emmanuel Taban, a pulmonologist at Mediclinic Midstream in Midrand, has sent a stark warning to the public about the use of Ivermectin via a Facebook post on 19 July.
A concerned Dr Taban took to Facebook to warn the public of the effects of using Ivermectin, an antiparasitic medication intended for animals that some people and doctors seem to believe can treat COVID-19.
IVERMECTIN LIVER DAMAGE IN ‘90% OF PATIENTS’
The drug has adverse effects on the human body and Dr Taban noted that 90% of the patients using the drug suffered from liver damage, according to Times Live.
“Some 90% of the patients using the drug, had presented with liver damage,” said Dr Taban according to Times Live.
“Most of these patients have been taking Ivermectin which was prescribed by doctors and as a result they feel protected,” he continued.
“I have lost five patients to liver failure from Ivermectin and all patients now admitted here have all been on [the drug],” he added.
“Clearly this drug does not work and is not intended for use by humans. I strongly encourage you to stop prescribing it and advise against [its] use,” he went on to mention.
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IVERMECTIN AND COVID-19
The use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 has been controversial with some health care workers supporting its use while others have said there is no evidence that it can be used to prevent or cure COVID-19.
In January, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) stated that there was not enough data to prove that the drug could be used against the virus. However, the authority did roll out a “compassionate use” programme allowing doctors to request permission to prescribe the drug.
Dr Taban is not on the fence on the use of the drug and has included research into his decision against it.
He stated that the current evidence on the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients is inconclusive until more data is made available and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended that the drug only be used within clinical trials.
“Ivermectin is a broad spectrum antiparasitic agent, included in WHO essential medicines list for several parasitic diseases. It is used in the treatment of onchocerciasis (river blindness), strongyloidiasis and other diseases caused by soil transmitted helminthiasis. It is also used to treat scabies,” wrote Dr Taban.
Dr Taban further stated that a guideline development group was convened in response to ivermectin as potential treatment for COVID-19.
The independent group made up of a panel of international experts pooled data from 16 randomised controlled trials, including both inpatients and outpatients with COVID-19, and they determined that the evidence on whether Ivermectin has a very low certainty of reducing mortality, mechanical ventilation and need for hospital admission in COVID-19 patients.
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Dr Taban urged South Africans not to be misled by social media.
“My heart breaks at the suffering of these people because they are being misled by social media,” added Dr Taban according to TimesLive.
