Mitos Kesehatan Sepekan: Jepang Sarankan Ivermectin untuk Obat Covid-19 hingga Minum Kopi Hilangkan Lemak

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Informasi hoaks terus bermunculan di media sosial, tidak terkecuali hoaks dan mitos kesehatan yang dapat mempengaruhi masyarakat. Satu di antaranya klaim Jepang menyarankan menggunakan ivermectin sebagai obat melawan virus corona Covid-19.

Kabar tersebut disebarkan oleh salah satu akun Facebook pada 6 September 2021. Akun Facebook tersebut menuliskan narasi bahwa pemerintah Jepang telah mengambil keputusan menggunakan ivermectin untuk pengobatan Covid-19.

Berikut narasinya:

BREAKING: Japanese medical association chairman tells doctors to prescribe Ivermectin for COVID

"...four pills should be distributed to everyone in the country, so that people can take them “as soon as you are infected.”~ Dr. Kazuhiro Nagao

The chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association, Haruo Ozaki, held a press conference this week announcing that the anti-parasite medicine Ivermectin seems to be effective at stopping COVID-19 and publicly recommending that all doctors in Japan immediately begin using Ivermectin to treat COVID.

Ivermectin has been a source of controversy amongst medical professionals regarding the possibility of therapeutic treatments for those diagnosed with COVID-19.

Multiple reports and studies have shown evidence that Ivermectin is effective in combatting illness associated with COVID-19, and in some countries, like India, it is recommended for use even though the World Health Organization does not recommend it.

Dr. Ozaki cited evidence from African nations that have utilized Ivermectin during the pandemic. He stated: “In Africa, if we compare countries distributing Ivermectin once a year with countries who do not give Ivermectin… they don’t give Ivermectin to prevent COVID but to prevent parasitic disease… if we look at COVID numbers in countries that give Ivermectin, the number of cases is 134.4/100,000 and the number of deaths is 2.2/100,000.”

In 2019, Japan’s death rate from influenza amounted to 2.9 death cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Tokyo Medical Association chairman compared statistics from African countries that did use Ivermectin yearly with those that did not: “Now African countries which do not distribute Ivermectin: 950.6 cases per 100,000 and 29.3 deaths per 100,000.”

In his opinion, he believes that this shows a clear difference between the illness and fatality rates amongst nations that use Ivermectin and those that do not: “I believe the difference is clear. Of course one cannot conclude that Ivermectin is effective only on the basis of these figures, but when we have all of these elements, we cannot say that Ivermectin is absolutely not effective, at least not me.”

He added that, given the situation, other studies can be done to “confirm its efficacy,” insinuating that it is worth using as a treatment, given that in his estimation, Japan is “in a crisis situation.”

He said, “I think we are in a situation where we can afford to give [patients] this treatment.”

Another prominent Japanese physician, Dr. Kazuhiro Nagao, appeared on Japanese television proposing that COVID-19 should be treated as a Class 5 illness as opposed to its current classification as a Class 2. In Japan, illnesses are categorized by a classification system; approaching COVID as a Class 5 illness would mean that it could be treated like a seasonal flu.Dr. Nagao said he has used Ivermectin as an early treatment for over 500 COVID patients with practically a 100% success rate, and that it should be used nationwide.

About the effectiveness of Ivermectin in treating COVID patients, he said: “It starts being effective the very next day… My patients can reach me by message 24/7 and they tell me they feel better the next day.”

Nagao was asked by the TV anchor when patients should take Ivermectin if diagnosed with COVID-19. He replied: “The same day, I mean if you are infected today, you take it today… It is a medication that should be given for mildly ill patients. If you give it to hospital patients, it’s too late. This is also the case for the majority of drugs… So you have to give Ivermectin. I am asking our Prime Minister Suga to distribute this drug ‘made in Japan’ on a large scale in the country.”

He added that four pills should be distributed to everyone in the country, so that people can take them “as soon as you are infected.”

Ivermectin originates from a single microbe unearthed from soil in Japan, and in recent years has been called a “wonder” drug that continues to surprise and exceed expectations. It has shown “unexpected” potential as an antibacterial, antiviral and anti-cancer agent, according to a 2017 article from The Journal of Antibiotics.

The same article stated: “Ivermectin has also been demonstrated to be a potent broad-spectrum specific inhibitor of importin ?/?-mediated nuclear transport and demonstrates antiviral activity against several RNA viruses by blocking the nuclear trafficking of viral proteins.”

Namun setelah ditelusuri, kabar tentang Jepang menyarankan penggunaan ivermectin untuk obat Covid-19 ternyata tidak benar. Faktanya, Jepang belum memberikan pernyataan resmi terkait rekomendasi ivermectin untuk pengobatan Covid-19.

Selain klaim Jepang menyarankan menggunakan ivermectin sebagai obat melawan virus corona Covid-19, terdapat mitos kesehatan lain yang telah ditelusuri. Berikut rangkumannya.

*** Untuk mengetahui kebenaran informasi yang beredar, silakan WhatsApp ke nomor 0811 9787 670 hanya dengan ketik kata kunci yang diinginkan.