La Paz (AFP)
The Bolivian ministry of health on Wednesday authorized the use of ivermectin, a parasiticide often used in veterinary medicine, to treat Covid-19.
A circular allowing "the import and use in different doses" of this product has been published, announced the Minister of Health Marcelo Navajas to the TV channel Unitel, before specifying that the drug "has not been scientifically validated for the treatment of coronavirus ".
For this reason, it should only be administered under the responsibility of a doctor and provided that the patient is informed that the effectiveness of the molecule has not been proven for Covid-19, underlined Mr. Navajas.
Bolivian doctors, practicing mainly in the regions of Santa Cruz (east) and Beni (northeast), recently revealed that they prescribed ivermectin to people infected with the new coronavirus, responsible for the Covid-19 disease.
After these announcements, the pest control, which comes in the form of tablets, began to be in demand in pharmacies and on the black market where its price increased fivefold, from 10 to 50 bolivianos (1.4 to 7 dollars).
"This drug is very easy to take, is very inexpensive, it can be used all over the country, and it eliminates (the coronavirus) from the body in 5 days," assured doctor Erland Vaca Diez on Monday. admitting that its effectiveness could not be established at 100%.
Ivermectin "is a preferred parasiticide in veterinary medicine but has also been used in certain types of human parasitosis," said the national director of epidemiology, Virgilio Prieto.
The molecule is especially prescribed against scabies.
"We will wait for clinical trials," warned the president of the College of Physicians of La Paz, Luis Larrea, also warning against self-medication.
Bolivia, whose population has been confined since March 17, has recorded 2,964 cases of new coronavirus and 128 deaths.
© 2020 AFP