Is it true that Malaysian soldiers have been taking ivermectin since the 1970s without any issue?
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the FACTS really are!
Claim : Malaysian Soldiers Have Been Taking Ivermectin Since 1970s!
Ivermectin proponents keep emphasising how safe ivermectin really is, even though there have been reports of liver damage and other health complications.
Recently, people have been sharing a post allegedly made by a veteran, who claimed that Malaysian soldiers have been taking ivermectin since the 1970s without any issue.
He even claimed that it was mandatory for Malaysian soldiers to take ivermectin before any deployment into the jungle, and those who refused would be court-martialled.
Here is the original post in Bahasa Malaysia, and our English translation :
Kami tentera dah gunakan semenjak 1970sn dan belum ada masaalah… Sebelum membuat operasi di hutan, tentera dikehendaki mkn sebiji di dlm perbarisian dan di hadapan pegawai dan klu enggan akan di court marsyall…tujuan mkn adalah untuk mencegah malaria, parasit dan virus… apasa skrg baru nak jadi isu padahal tentera dah gunakan sejak 40 tahun lepas… tak pelik ke msia ini?
Our soldiers have been using [ivermectin] since the 1970s and never had any problems with it.
Before conducting any operation in the jungle, our soldiers have to swallow an [ivermectin] tablet in front of the officers, and those who refused would be court-martialled.
The reason for eating [ivermectin] was to prevent malaria, parasites and viruses.
Why is it now an issue when our troops have been using [ivermectin] for the last 40 years?
Aren’t we trying to be funny?
Truth : Malaysian Soldiers Never Took Ivermectin
The truth is this is yet another lie being propagated by ivermectin supporters, and here are the FACTS!
Fact #1 : Ivermectin Was Only Introduced In 1981
It is temporally impossible for Malaysian soldiers to take ivermectin in the 1970s, because ivermectin was only introduced for the first time in 1981.
Even then, it was only used in animals. Ivermectin was not approved for human use anywhere in the world until 1988.
Read more : Ivermectin Claims by TUDM Officers : What Are The Facts?
Fact #2 : Ivermectin Not Approved For Human Use In Malaysia
As of 17 August 2021, ivermectin is still NOT approved for human use in Malaysia.
In fact, sale of ivermectin for human use is illegal in Malaysia, and punishable by fines of up to RM50,000 and/or 5 years of imprisonment!
So it is also legally impossible for Malaysian soldiers to be treated with ivermectin.
Read more : Illegal Ivermectin Sale : Up to RM50K Fine + 5 Years Jail!
Fact #3 : Ivermectin Never Given To Malaysian Soldiers
Lt. Colonel Dr. Rusyainie Ramli of the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) explained that Malaysian soldiers have never been treated with ivermectin, as it is not approved for human use in Malaysia.
In the past, soldiers on deployment were given Pyrimethamine or Sulfadoxime (better known as Fansidar) as a prophylaxis against malaria.
Malaysian soldiers now use this Doxycycline protocol instead :
- 100 mg OD for 2 days prior to deployment to a malaria endemic area
- 100 mg OD for the length of the deployment
- On returning, 100 mg OD for 28 days
She also explained that ivermectin is only used by ATM veterinarians to treat parasite infections in dogs and horses.
Fact #4 : Ivermectin Not Used For Malaria Yet
There is interest in repurposing ivermectin for use against malaria, as it is toxic to the malaria plasmodium and the mosquitoes that carry it.
However, ivermectin’s efficacy against malaria has yet to be definitely established. Therefore, it is currently not being used to treat or prevent malaria.
Fact #5 : Ivermectin Is Not 100% Safe
Ivermectin is generally a safe and well-tolerated drug, but it has not actually been widely used.
Ivermectin proponents like to tell us that 3.7 billion doses of ivermectin have been prescribed over the last 40 years. That’s just 92 million doses a year.
In 2018, 41 billion doses of Atorvastatin were prescribed – 11X more doses in a single year than all ivermectin doses ever sold in the last 40 years.
On top of that, the ivermectin protocols being promoted by FLCCC, Professor Thomas Borody, Dr. Amir Farid and random people on social media have NEVER been tested for safety or efficacy.
So no one really knows whether the dosage or treatment regimen they are advocating are safe, or even work against COVID-19!
In fact, when people started self-medicating with ivermectin, doctors started to see cases of liver damage, which even resulted in at least one liver transplant.
Patients treated with ivermectin was also shown to require invasive mechanical ventilation EARLIER than those who did not take ivermectin.
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
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- National Poison Centre : Two Cases Of Ivermectin Poisoning!
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