Marjorie Taylor Greene Promotes Ivermectin, Vitamin D, and Zinc as Hantavirus Treatment

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene recommended ivermectin and other vitamins as “treatment” for hantavirus after quoting Dr. Mary Talley Bowden on X.

“In the wake of any major crisis these days, there’ll be people looking to hawk their own particular agenda”

Gizmodo

Bowden wrote, “Hantavirus is a RNA virus, and ivermectin should work against it,” and Greene followed by saying, “I actually texted her today and asked what can we treat hantavirus with. I’m so glad she posted it. Ivermectin. Also vitamin D and zinc.”

Gizmodo

The Mary Sue article says none of those supplements were proven to cure hantavirus and adds that “at the moment, there is no known cure for hantavirus.”

The Mary Sue also cites infectious-disease pushback from the UK, quoting Dr. Neil Stone on X: “Before anyone suggests it… Ivermectin doesn’t treat Hantavirus.”

The Intercept reports that amid reports of a rare Andes hantavirus outbreak, “political figures and prominent Covid-era ivermectin advocates once again began promoting the drug as a potential treatment,” even as infectious disease experts say there is no clinical evidence.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said, “There is no meaningful clinical evidence for ivermectin against hantavirus, full stop,” and added that the only antiviral formally evaluated in clinical trials for hantavirus is ribavirin.

The Intercept

Vincent Racaniello, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Columbia University, said, “There is zero evidence indicating that ivermectin would be a treatment for any hantavirus,” and the article also quotes his view that the Andes virus remains the only hantavirus known to spread person to person.

The Intercept also notes that the FDA warns improper use or high doses can cause serious side effects, including seizures and neurological complications, while Racaniello warned that unsupported medical claims circulating on social media can create public confusion during disease outbreaks.

The Mary Sue describes a hantavirus-hit cruise ship involving MV Hondius and says the Dutch couple who contracted the hantavirus have already passed away, with the man dying on April 6 and his wife later dying in Johannesburg on April 26.

It also says a British citizen contracted the disease and is now stable in a Netherlands hospital, while a third passenger died of pneumonia on the cruise ship and is suspected to be hantavirus-related.

The Intercept says health authorities are investigating a recent cluster linked to international travelers aboard an expedition cruise ship traveling between Argentina, Antarctica, and South Africa, with several cases identified beyond the vessel.

In parallel, the Intercept reports that on Wednesday the South Carolina House passed legislation that would allow ivermectin to be sold without a prescription, while the article frames the resurgence of ivermectin claims as continuing efforts by Republican-led states to expand access to the drug.