Ivermectin: Oklahoma doctor warns against using drug for Covid treatment

A US doctor is urging people to stop taking the horse deworming drug Ivermectin to treat Covid-19.

Patients have been needing urgent treatment at emergency units in Oklahoma hospitals after overdosing on the drug, Dr Jason McElyea says.

Small doses of Ivermectin are approved for use on humans, but not for Covid.

"You've got to have a prescription for this medication for a reason - because it can be dangerous," Dr McElyea told the BBC.

He said a "handful" of people overdosing on the drug were putting further strain on hospital staff already stretched by a surge in Covid cases.

"The [emergency rooms] are so backed up that gunshot victims were having hard times getting to facilities where they can get definitive care and be treated," he told local broadcaster KFOR earlier this week.

Ivermectin, mainly a veterinary deworming agent, can be used in small doses to treat some human conditions.

But the drug has become controversial after being promoted as a way of treating or preventing Covid, despite being so far unproven.