The scientists at Monash University found Invermectin, a common oral head lice treatment, killed coronavirus cells in a lab in just 48 hours.
However, the team hasn’t yet been confirmed that the dose of the strong anti-parasitic drug required to kill COVID-19 in humans is safe for us to take.
Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s Dr. Kylie Wagstaff (pictured), who led the research, said it is looking promising so far, though.
“We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it,” she said.
If found to be safe, it could be given to early-stage COVID-19 patients to stop the virus replicating in the body and leading to serious illness.
As yet, no one has developed a market-ready anti-viral for COVID-19 – and with this medicine already on pharmacy shelves for head lice treatment, it may be the most promising treatment option yet.
However, the researchers have urged people not to rush out and buy it – as it still needs to go through human trials.
It just goes show however – your mum was right when she said that nasty head lice shampoo was for your own good.
