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The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday urged people to stop taking ivermectin — a drug used to treat parasites in animals — to respond to or prevent the coronavirus.
Driving the news: The Mississippi State Health Department on Friday sent a letter warning health workers of the increase in poisonings from people taking ivermectin.
What they're saying: "The Mississippi Poison Control Center has received an increasing number of calls from individuals with potential ivermectin exposure taken to treat or prevent COVID-19 infection," state officials said in the letter.
- "At least 70% of the recent calls have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers," they added.
- "Never use medications intended for animals on yourself. Ivermectin preparations for animals are very different from those approved for humans," FDA guidance says.
Flashback: The World Health Organization in March issued a warning saying ivermectin should only be used in clinical trials because evidence of its use for the coronavirus was "inconclusive."