Arkansas' official poisons hotline has received four times more calls about a deworming drug being used as an unauthorized COVID treatment this year than it has over the last four years combined.
The Arkansas Poison Center has received 24 calls from people who've ingested Ivermectin so far this year, having previously received just six such calls in total between 2016 and 2020.
While ivermectin can be used to treat other conditions in people, experts say the doses given to animals is far higher, and should never be ingested by people.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved it's use for humans, but for parasitical infections and skin diseases - and not as a COVID treatment.
Ivermectin has not been approved to treat COVID-19, yet gained attention on social media after Republican lawmakers in Arkansas urged it's use for that purpose.
Ivermectin can be used in humans, but in much smaller doses than what is used for animals. The drug is a popular horse dewormer, though some are buying veterinarian versions of the drug for use in COVID-19 treatment
The Centers for Disease Control has warned Americans it is dangerous to take ivermectin as a COVID treatment, although it continues to fly off the shelves
Large doses of this drug, however, can cause serious harm to humans if ingested.
Those who ingested the drug were reported suffering from gastrointestinal issues as well as neurological in some.
'Ivermectin can be prescribed off label for other uses, and that is a decision between a physician and a patient,' Arkansas Secretary of Health Jose Romero told KATV.
The Arkansas Poison Center received 24 calls this year after Ivermectin was ingested which resulted in effects relating to gastrointestinal and neurological issues.
On August 24, a warning was issued by The State Health Department to avoid using the drug as a way of treating COVID-19.
Dr. Marti Sharkey, the public health officer for the city of Fayetteville, said that the belief Ivermectin could be used as a treatment method came from a study that showed high doses of the drug did prevent COVID-19 from reproducing.
'We have a vaccine that is FDA approved that prevents serious illness and death, and monoclonal antibodies have been approved by the FDA for emergency use, decreasing the need for hospitalization for those with a high risk of complications', Sharkey told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
'We have tools that we know work. I do not understand why you would turn to a therapy that is not approved by the FDA, is unproven against Covid-19 and potentially lethal.'
Dr Howell Foster, Director of the Arkansas Poison Center, was one of the main public health officials to promote preventing Ivermectin being used as a COVID-19 treatment method
'The biggest takeaway is that veterinary products are not formulated for humans', Dr. Howell Foster, Director of the Arkansas Poison Center said.
'They are at really high concentrations because we are giving them to really big animals, and you need to be really careful with that.'
The FDA website said that an overdose of the drug can cause more severe reactions ranging from stomach-related problems to seizures. Death has also been listed as a possibility.
'You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously y'all. Stop it,' FDA posted on Twitter.
Dr Jose Romero, the Arkansas Secretary of Health, also made a statement as COVID cases in the U.S. South have continued to increase
The drug has also been used to treat prisoners at the Washington County Jail in Fayetteville which was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union, even though the procedure was reported to be voluntary.
Dr. Romero told KHBS: 'What we're seeing across the south and not just in our state is that veterinary-grade Ivermectin is being taken by humans.
'There is an increase in the numbers of cases both in adults and children.'
'It has gotten to the point where it is important to make that public announcement that you have to be careful and not take that which is designed for large animals.'
