コロナ感染拡大のインドネシア、「イベルメクチン」が人気　当局警告

【ジャカルタＡＦＰ＝時事】新型コロナウイルスの感染が拡大するインドネシアで、保健当局の警告にもかかわらず、抗寄生虫薬「イベルメクチン」が新型コロナの「奇跡の治療薬」として人気を集めている。著名政治家やソーシャルメディアのインフルエンサーも勧めている。（写真はインドネシア・バンドンで、新型コロナウイルスによる死者の遺体が入ったひつぎを運ぶ医療従事者）
　人口世界第４位のインドネシアは、新型コロナによる１日の死者が増え、パンデミック（世界的な大流行）が始まって以来、最悪の感染拡大に見舞われている。
　イベルメクチンは、ソーシャルメディアで盛んに新型コロナの治療薬として取り上げられていることもあり、全国の薬局で売り切れとなっている。
　首都ジャカルタの市場の医薬品販売グループ代表、ヨヨン氏は、在庫不足により、１瓶約１７万５０００ルピア（約１３００円）だった価格は、約３０万ルピア（約２３００円）にまで高騰したと話す。「買い求める人が多く、今は在庫を切らしている」
　インフルエンサーがオンラインでしきりにイベルメクチンを称賛することも需要を押し上げた。
　ツイッターで３５万人のフォロワーがいる自称「総合健康管理医」のレザ・グナワンさんは、「イベルメクチンは、さまざまな医師によってパンデミックを終わらせる安全で有効な鍵の一つだとされており、多くの科学的証拠がある」と投稿した。
　反ワクチンと陰謀論にあおられ、ブラジルや南アフリカ、レバノンなどさまざまな国でイベルメクチンの需要が急拡大している。
　しかし、製薬会社メルクは、新型コロナに対する治療効果の可能性について科学的根拠はないとしており、不適切に服用した場合に起こり得る安全問題に警鐘を鳴らした。
　科学者や世界保健機関、インドネシアも含む各国医薬品規制当局は、イベルメクチンが新型コロナ治療に有効だという信頼できる証拠に欠けると強調している。
　インドネシアの実業家で、イタリア・セリエＡのインテルの元オーナーとしても知られるエリック・トーヒル国営企業相は、国営製薬会社インドファルマが、月４００万錠のイベルメクチンを製造できると示唆している。
　ただ、新型コロナに対する効果の立証にはさらなる試験が必要だとし、利用者は処方箋を得て服用するよう呼びかけている。
　一方、フォロワーが２５０万人いる人気のスシ・プジアストゥティ元海洋・水産相は、「私は医者ではないが、絶望と困難に直面する中、なんでも試してみる価値があると思う」とツイッターに投稿した。
　インドネシア以外の複数の国でも、イベルメクチンの有効性を吹聴するフェイスブックの投稿や記事が急拡散している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/07/09-13:05）

Indonesians have ignored health warnings to stock up on a miracle cure for Covid-19 backed by leading politicians and social media influencers, as an out-of-control virus surge sweeps the country.
Authorities are reporting hundreds of deaths every day as the world's fourth-most populous nation struggles with its worst outbreak since the pandemic began.
Pharmacies across the country are running out of ivermectin, an oral treatment normally used to treat lice and other parasitic infections, thanks in part to viral social media posts touting its potential as a coronavirus treatment.
Those who come bring a screenshot showing that ivermectin... could cure Covid, said Yoyon, head of a pharmaceutical sales group at a market in the capital Jakarta, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
He said the shortage had pushed the price of the drug up from around 175,000 to 300,000 rupiah ($12-$21) a bottle.
We are out of supplies at the moment after many people came to buy it, he added.
Enthusiastic praise from popular online personalities are helping drive demand.
Ivermectin is one of the safe and effective keys to ending the pandemic from various doctors, with lots of scientific evidence, Reza Gunawan, a self-described holistic health practitioner, wrote to his 350,000 Twitter followers.
Iman Sjafei, the cofounder of popular Indonesian media outlet Asumsi, used the same platform to say five of his acquaintances had recovered from Covid after taking the drug.
Maybe placebo. Maybe. But it might be true too, he added.
Sylvie Bernadi, who lives on Jakarta's outskirts, said she purchased ivermectin for infected relatives after seeing WhatsApp messages and social media posts promoting the drug.
Many people are saying that it can cure Covid-19 so I bought it, the 66-year-old said, while conceding some had raised concerns about unspecified side effects.
Fuelled by anti-vaccine and pandemic conspiracy theories online, there has been a surge in demand for the drug from Brazil to South Africa to Lebanon.
But manufacturer Merck has said there was no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against Covid-19 and warned of possible safety issues if the drug is administered inappropriately.
Scientists, the World Health Organization, and several drug regulators -- including Indonesia's own -- have also stressed there is a lack of credible evidence to show it works against Covid-19.
- 'I'm not a doctor, but...' -
That has not stopped Indonesian tycoon and government minister Erick Thohir from praising ivermectin and urging domestic production to fight the current outbreak.
A former owner of Italian football champions Inter Milan and a shareholder of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball franchise, Thohir recently suggested that state-owned drug giant Indofarma could produce up to four million ivermectin tablets a month.
While he said more testing is required to ascertain its effectiveness against Covid-19 and urged users to get a prescription before taking the tablets, others have shown less caution.
I'm not a doctor, but in the midst of desperation and difficulty, I think anything is worth a try, said Susi Pudjiastuti, a popular former fisheries minister, who has 2.5 million followers on Twitter.
Facebook posts and articles touting the drug's effectiveness against coronavirus have proliferated in several countries.
Efforts to tackle the virus worldwide have been marred by conspiracy theories, often propagated by political leaders and other public figures.
In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte has pressured regulators to approve the the drug as a Covid treatment.
There are a lot of credible people... who swear by their fathers' grave that ivermectin is doing good to their bodies while they are suffering from Covid, Duterte recently told the chief of the country's drug regulator.
After demand for the drug surged in Latin America, the WHO said in March that any use of the drug as a coronavirus treatment should be limited to clinical trials.
The US Food and Drug Administration has even warned of the risks of taking ivermectin following reports of people being hospitalised after ingesting a version of the drug meant for horses.