A drug that has traditionally been used to treat head lice is now showing promise as a possible treatment for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, ABC News reports.
The anti-parasitic drug ivermectin has been around since the 1970s, first used to treat cattle, and later, to treat humans. Originally used to treat a parasitic infection in humans, it also turned out to be an effective treatment for head lice, and has been used as such for decades.
And though COVID-19 isn’t a parasitic illness in the strictest sense, two clinical tests on two continents show that its method of destroying the parasites’ genetic material may work the same way in destroying the novel coronavirus’ genetic material, slowing the spread of the virus and giving the patient’s immune system time to fight off the disease.
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