A group of Australian scientists has found that Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, can kill the novel coronavirus within 48 hours. 

On Saturday, Science Daily quoted Kylie Wagstaff of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute as saying that Ivermectin stopped the coronavirus from growing in a cell culture within 48 hours.

Wagstaff, who led the research, said the team found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours, and even at 24 hours there was a significant reduction.

Wagstaff was quick to add, however, that trials needed to be carried out in people as the tests conducted in the study were in vitro. She said the next step to figure out now is what dosage will be effective in humans.

Ivermectin is an FDA-approved anti-parasitic drug that has also been shown to be effective in vitro against a broad range of viruses including HIV, Dengue, Influenza and Zika.

The team’s research results were published in the latest edition of the medical journal Antiviral Research.