Top Australian doctor claims $2 head lice drug can ‘CURE’ coronavirus

Professor Thomas Borody (pictured) has claimed the answer to the COVID-19 crisis is already here, but is being ignored by Australian health authorities

A highly respected Australian doctor has claimed the answer to the COVID-19 crisis is already here, but is being ignored by Australian health authorities.

Professor Thomas Borody, from the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney, told Daily Mail Australia that the drug Ivermectin – once used for treating head lice – can be used in combination with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to kill COVID-19.

But other medical experts have warned against ‘false hope’ and say the $2 tablet treatment is not a miracle cure.

‘Viruses cannot multiply on their own, they need us – the host,’ Prof Borody said.

‘So we can kill viruses by inhibiting their multiplication within our own cells and this drug just happens to do that and so does Doxycycline.’

This combination, along with a dose of zinc to change the body’s pH levels, was shown in a joint study by Monash University and the Doherty Institute to effectively reduce COVID-19.

However the April 3 study was not a human trial and the test tube dose used to kill the virus was up to 50 times higher than ever tested on a patient.

But Prof Borody says if the dose was lowered to a level compatible with human use, it could still eliminate coronavirus with little to no side effects.

The drug which is widely used to treat scabies and other parasites is already approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration and listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation.

Prof Borody said the drug Ivermectin can be used in combination with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to kill COVID-19

Prof Borody said the drug Ivermectin can be used in combination with zinc and the antibiotic Doxycycline to kill COVID-19

Prof Borody, who is a world-leading gastroenterologist credited for saving millions of lives after developing a cure for peptic ulcers, says the treatment should be in use across Australia as it is overseas in 32 countries.

‘We had a trial of 60 patients in Bangladesh and we got 60 out of 60 cured,’ he said.

‘Another two trials (in the US and China) have also shown results of 100 percent.’

With Victoria under strict lockdown following a surge in infections, Prof Borody said authorities need to take a serious look at treating front line workers and patients in aged care facilities.

‘I don’t have an answer for why we are not using it,’ he said.

‘We write to the government but it doesn’t get to the top, they have too much to do. It goes to their advisors and they probably do not have the experience in reading medical papers.’

White House health records revealed that US President Donald Trump uses Ivermectin cream to treat the skin condition rosacea

White House health records revealed that US President Donald Trump uses Ivermectin cream to treat the skin condition rosacea

Ivermectin was once used to treat head lice, now it's most commonly used for treating scabies

Ivermectin was once used to treat head lice, now it’s most commonly used for treating scabies  

But because other ‘miracle drugs’ such as hydroxychloroquine have initially shown promise against coronavirus had failed to win the approval of the scientific community, other Australia experts are warning that all theorised medicines should be ‘taken with a grain of salt’.

‘No, (Ivermectin) it’s not a cure for COVID-19,’ Dr Ian Musgrave, a molecular pharmacologist from the University of Adelaide told News Corp.

‘It works in test-tube experiments, but is unlikely to work clinically as it is hard to achieve effective plasma concentrations.

‘No clinical trials data are available yet and in the absence of any public data, claims of the high efficacy are to be taken with a grain of salt.’

Professor Mark Sullivan and Dr Craig Rayner, who examined the initial Monash University study into Ivermectin have also urged caution in an interview with The Age.

‘We cannot give false hope,’ Dr Rayner said.

‘You will hit safety problems far sooner than you will hit efficacy,’ Prof Sullivan said.

With Victoria under strict lockdown following a surge in infections, Prof Borody said authorities need to take a serious look at treating front line workers and patients in aged care facilities

With Victoria under strict lockdown following a surge in infections, Prof Borody said authorities need to take a serious look at treating front line workers and patients in aged care facilities

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk