An anti-parasitic drug already available across the world can kill the novel coronavirus grown in cell cultures within 48 hours.
This has been found by a team of researchers and a study published in the journal Antiviral Research, it has been stated that a drug called Ivermectin stopped SARS-CoV-2 from growing in cell culture within 48 hours.
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Quoting co-author Kylie Wagstaff from Monash University in Australia Hindustan Times reported, “We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it.”
” Ivermectin is an approved anti-parasitic drug. It has shown to be effective in vitro against a broad range of viruses including HIV, dengue, influenza and Zika virus,” the research team added.
Wagstaff, however, cautioned that human trials are yet to be carried out.
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Wagstaff further informed that Ivermectin is widely used and is considered to be a safe drug.
“We need to figure out now whether the dosage you can use it at in humans will be effective – that’s the next step,” Hindustan Times further reported quoting Wagstaff.
“The use of Ivermectin to combat COVID-19 will depend on the results of future pre-clinical testing and clinical trials,” Wagstaff added.