Four prisoners in Arkansas, USA, filed a lawsuit on charges that they were given a drug called Ivermectin, which is used as a parasite reducer in horses, without being told what it was during their Covid treatments.
Ivermectin can also be used as a parasite reducer for humans in small doses. However, health officials warn that this drug should not be used for Covid.
Anti-vaccine and those who believe in conspiracy theories offer Ivermectin as an alternative to the Covid vaccine.
The doctor who gave the drug to the prisoners at the Washington District Penitentiary says he didn’t force anyone to do it.
‘Experiment on prisoners’
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the case on behalf of the prisoners, stated that after catching the coronavirus last August, some drugs were given to these people and they were said to be vitamins, antibiotics and cortisone.
Patient consent was not obtained for Ivermectin, according to the ACLU.
Edrick Floreal-Wooten, Jeremiah Little, Julio Gonzales and Dayman Blackburn said they experienced visual disturbances, diarrhea and stomach cramps after taking Ivermectin.
“No one – including detained individuals – should be deceived or subjected to medical experiments,” the Arkansas branch of the ACLU said in a statement.
The case was brought against the prison administration, the police department and the doctor who gave the medicine, Robert Karas.
Dr. Karas told the authorities conducting the investigation in September, when the allegations were first made, that he has given Ivermectin to 254 people in prison since November 2020, and that he has given the same treatment to these four prisoners. Dr. Karas claimed that he did not deceive patients and did not force anyone to take this drug.
‘Miracle drug’
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned last year not to take Ivermectin for Covid-19.
By the summer of 2021, the use of Ivermectin had increased in the US.
There has also been a sharp increase in cases of poisoning from this drug over the same period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC.
Ivermectin, which is used by veterinarians for the treatment of worms in horses, can also be prescribed for certain parasites and lice in humans.
Ivermectin, which is called the ‘miracle drug’ by vaccine opponents, has been approved for the treatment of Covid in some countries.