Coronavirus is a perfect storm pandemic virus – novel so unknown to the human immune system, easy to spread even when asymptomatic, sometimes hard to detect, unpredictable, and especially deadly in those with preexisting conditions. We lack sufficient testing capacity, and effective treatments. Some of the early ones proposed are not looking so rosy right now, and are causing harm in some patients.

As a “Parasite Guy” – not by degree or training, but by US Army Reserve Medical Corps experience – I have learned to look more deeply into both evolutionary biology and how to repurpose medications. Ivermectin is a parasite medication I have used often in my practice over the years for many conditions seemingly not related to parasites by Western medical standards, including certain cancers, asthma, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and TMJ, For an interesting case of using Ivermectin to treat fever of unknown origin (FUO) in military personnel, see my article, Parasite Guy on UFO and FUO. A fever of unknown origin can be like a UFO, an “unidentified flying object” (or unidentified foreign object).

In the June 2020 issue of Antiviral Research, Leon Caly et al of Australia published, “The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.” Highlights include:

• Ivermectin is an inhibitor of the COVID-19 causative virus (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro.
• A single treatment able to effect ~5000-fold reduction in virus at 48 h in cell culture.
• It is FDA-approved for parasitic infections, and therefore has a potential for repurposing.
• It is widely available, due to its inclusion on the WHO model list of essential medicines.

What about ivermectin use in COVID-19? Dr. Jean-Jacques Rajter, and his wife, Dr. Juliana Cepelowicz-Rajter, both pulmonologists at Broward Health Medical Center in Florida, are pioneering the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19. She came up with the idea after reading the Australian research paper noted above. Dr. Rajter shared, “If we get to these people early… I’ve had nearly a 100% response rate, they all improve, if they’re on more oxygen than that, then it becomes a little more varied, some people, they don’t respond anymore because they are too far advanced.” Dr. Cepelowicz-Rajter added, “More studies need to be conducted. We haven’t had any ill effects from it and it’s readily available, we have some patients who are pretty advanced, not yet intubated, and even those, in 12 hours, they showed a significant improvement.”

Here is some of my clinical experience in treating fever of unknown origin, parasites, and more with ivermectin. I first learned about treating parasites on a US Army Reserve Mission to Bolivia in 2001, and began to use it in my practice. In 2011, I received an email from a retired Air Force General asking to see me, he called me a “parasite guy.” His physician was a U.N. tropical disease specialist and could not solve his parasite problems. The General had come to see me with a working diagnosis of Fever of Unknown Origin (FUO) for several years. He had been evaluated at Walter Reed Hospital, the best military hospital, and by an infectious disease specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He gave over 100 vials of blood, urine, and stool to the CDC for evaluation. There were no significant findings or improvement; he was officially diagnosed with FUO.

When he came to see me, he was still complaining of a 102-103 degree Fahrenheit fever, bone chills, elevated muscle enzymes, back cramps, lethargy, poor sleep, nocturnal urination, and muscle cramps. Acupuncture Meridian Assessment (AMA), an adjunct evaluation tool that I use, indicated his primary problems came from the Large Intestine, Gallbladder, and Liver and Spleen meridians. He was started on high doses of Ivermectin and Pyrantel pamoate (common dog parasite medications) for ten days. One year later, when I saw him in Washington DC, he said he was feeling well and his FUO had been resolved. I can only guess what type of parasites he had by his response to the medications. A hundred vials of stool, blood and urine did not detect the specific infectious cause – a UFO, perhaps.

I have seen a few more cases of FUO. Another one came from a White House staff Air Force Colonel, who got deathly ill when he was in South America monitoring drug trafficking. He was air evacuated from La Paz, Bolivia and hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital and also Bethesda Naval Hospital. He had some improvement, but lots of residual medical problems. He had too many symptoms and diagnoses to mention but one of the diagnoses was FUO. Many of his symptoms responded to parasite medications. His dental problems were another nightmare, but that is a different story.

Over the years of my medical practice, prescribing ivermectin with different combination of parasite and fungal medications based on acupuncture meridian assessment (AMA), I have seen dramatic responses by patients with tough diagnoses other than parasites: many neurologic disorders, cancers, FUO, and mystery diseases. I call their responses “Accidental Cure.” Some of these cases are described in my articles, Ivermectin Deficiency Syndrome, Parasite Guy on UFO and FUO: Aliens and Parasites, Parasites and a Mystery Disease: Unusual Case from Sweden, and Quarantine Iowa: Global Whining on Parasites. In addition, I have written two recent articles on COVID-19, Coronavirus and COVID-19: Good News from Abroad, ICIM and AMA, and COVID-19: Hidden Coinfections and Chain Reactions, which include recommendations for general immune support and prophylactic measures.

Interestingly, patients on antiparasitic medications often report resolution of seemingly unrelated problems. Are parasites one of the coinfections that can lead to advanced respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS), hypercoagulation, systemic inflammation, and other bad outcomes? Or does Ivermectin’s method of action have an impact on virus entry, attachment and replication due to biochemical factors?

If Ivermectin can treat fevers of unknown origin, can it also treat fevers of known origin, COVID-19? It is one of the drugs worth a closer look in treatment, testing, and trials. UFO and FUO phenomena are in parallel metaphorically. But don’t let government and pharmaceutical giants figure that out, or it will become very costly to treat them.