Mississippi officials warn against using ivermectin for COVID-19 amid spike in poisonings

Mississippi health officials are warning residents against using ivermectin, a horse dewormer medication, to treat COVID-19 infections at home amid a spike in poisoning calls to the Mississippi Poison Control Center.

The Mississippi Department of Health sent a letter out to to the MS Health Alert Network on Friday warning health professionals of the spike in poisonings from individuals digesting ivermectin.

“At least 70% of the recent calls have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers,” the letter stated.