Are there documented hospital or fatality case reports from taking horse ivermectin in adults or children?
Executive summary
Reports and poison-center data show people have been harmed after ingesting veterinary (horse/cow) ivermectin—poison-control calls, hospital admissions and at least some deaths are documented in the reviewed sources (e.g., WHO pharmacovigilance found serious cases including deaths; UConn and news reports cite two deaths linked to ivermectin overdose) [1] [2]. Regulatory bodies warn that veterinary formulations are concentrated and unsafe for humans; product labels and veterinary inserts explicitly state “not for use in humans” and warn of severe adverse reactions or fatalities in other species [3] [4].
1. What the surveillance data actually show: documented serious cases and some deaths
International pharmacovigilance and adverse‑event reviews record serious reactions and deaths where ivermectin was the suspected cause: an analysis of WHO safety reports identified 35 serious cases with ivermectin as the single suspect, including 6 deaths and multiple overdoses with neurologic complications; from May 2020 to December 2021 there was a sharp rise in reports tied to COVID‑19 use [1]. University reporting summarized that “two deaths linked to ivermectin overdose were reported in September 2021,” tied to misuse of veterinary products [2].
2. Poison-control and hospital patterns: more calls, sometimes hospital care
U.S. and state health authorities and news outlets reported surges in poison‑control calls and emergency evaluations after people consumed livestock ivermectin; officials warned that many calls involved ingestion of veterinary formulations intended for large animals and that taking large or multiple doses can be dangerous [3] [5]. Health departments noted that a large share of calls involved animal formulations and that toxicity often results from high, cumulative dosing rather than a single therapeutic human dose [5] [3].
3. Why veterinary ivermectin is more dangerous to humans in misuse scenarios
Veterinary preparations are formulated and dosed for animals weighing hundreds to thousands of pounds; their concentrations, vehicles and inactive ingredients differ from human tablets. Product labeling and vendor pages repeatedly say the paste is formulated for horses only and “not for use in humans,” warning that use in other species can cause severe adverse reactions, including fatalities [6] [7] [4]. Public-health commentary emphasizes that a dose meant for a 1,000+ lb animal can be many times a human dose and therefore toxic [8] [4].
4. Mechanism and risk factors for severe outcomes
Ivermectin’s safety in humans depends in part on P‑glycoprotein (P‑gp) at the blood‑brain barrier which limits CNS exposure; in animals or humans with impaired P‑gp function, higher CNS penetration can cause drowsiness, coma or death. Reviews note species differences and rare human vulnerabilities that can lead to severe neurologic toxicity when exposure is excessive [9] [10].
5. Conflicting claims and misinformation on scale of harm
Some accounts from clinicians and local authorities described emergency-room strain and multiple overdoses, while other investigations and state health updates found most cases were mild and did not require hospitalization; a small number of high‑profile claims (for example, ERs “packed” with ivermectin overdoses) were contested in follow‑up fact checks [11] [5]. The WHO pharmacovigilance review confirms a measurable rise in serious reports, while other sources underline that not every poison‑control call equals a hospitalization or fatality [1] [5].
6. What is not found in current reporting
Available sources do not mention a comprehensive, centralized dataset that lists every hospital admission or fatality worldwide specifically tied only to horse ivermectin ingestion with full clinical adjudication; detailed case‑level forensic reports linking individual deaths to brand and formulation are not assembled in these sources (available sources do not mention a single global registry) [1] [2].
7. Practical takeaway and reporting context
Regulators and experts uniformly advise against using veterinary ivermectin in humans; the FDA and public‑health voices state it is not authorized for COVID‑19 and warn that large doses are dangerous [3]. Product labels and veterinary inserts explicitly say “not for use in humans” and warn of possible fatalities in other species [4]. The evidence in the reviewed reporting supports that misuse of veterinary ivermectin has caused poison‑control spikes, serious neurologic events and at least some deaths, even as precise counts and uniformly adjudicated case reports remain fragmented across surveillance systems [1] [2].