Head Lice Med May Stop COVID-19 | Eastern North Carolina Now

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    As death tolls continue to rise from COVID-19, the scramble for new treatments to counter the virus surges on. Now, researchers have identified an anti-parasitic drug that is able to kill off the virus in cell cultures within just 48 hours. Widely available around the world, the researchers hope that it may soon be used to fight off the virus.

    Initially discovered by Dr Kylie Wagstaff from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute in Australia in 2012, it was soon recognized for its antiviral effects. Aside from potentially being able to fend off the novel coronavirus, the drug, known as Ivermectin, has also shown to be effective against other viruses including HIV, Dengue, influenza and Zika virus in vitro. Thus, as soon as the pandemic was confirmed to have begun, Wagstaff and her team are said to have begun research looking at Ivermectin's potential for fighting off SARS-CoV-2.