ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Effect of Infodemic Regarding the Illegal Sale of Medications on the Internet: Evaluation of Demand and Online Availability of Ivermectin during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multifactor Quality and Safety Analysis of Semaglutide Products Sold by Online Sellers Without a Prescription: Market Surveillance, Content Analysis, and Product Purchase Evaluation Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Article
- The characteristics and operations of "online pharmacies" investigated in relation to medicines popularised during the coronavirus pandemic: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Identifying legitimate websites selling medicines in South Africa.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2024Article
- The dynamics of food for special medical purposes (FSMPs) utilization in cancer care: from doctor recommendations to online pharmacy procurement.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Inefficacious drugs against covid-19: analysis of sales, tweets, and search engines.Revista de saude publica · 2024Article
- Misinformation, Trust, and Use of Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.JAMA health forum · 2023Article
- Article
- Illicit Online Pharmacies: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- News Media Coverage of the Problem of Purchasing Fake Prescription Medicines on the Internet: Thematic Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Reasons That Lead People to End Up Buying Fake Medicines on the Internet: Qualitative Interview Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- A mixed methods study exploring requests for unproven COVID therapies such as ivermectin and healthcare distrust in the rural South.Preventive medicine reports · 2023Article
- Illicit COVID-19 products online: A mixed-method approach for identifying and preventing online health risks.PloS one · 2023Article
- The Early Detection of Fraudulent COVID-19 Products From Twitter Chatter: Data Set and Baseline Approach Using Anomaly Detection.JMIR infodemiology · 2023Article
- Prevalence of Poisoned Google Search Results of Erectile Dysfunction Medications Redirecting to Illegal Internet Pharmacies: Data Analysis Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- An Analysis of the Deleterious Impact of the Infodemic during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil: A Case Study Considering Possible Correlations with Socioeconomic Aspects of Brazilian Demography.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Analysis of pharmacovigilance databases for spontaneous reports of adverse drug reactions related to substandard and falsified medical products: A descriptive study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- COVID-19 drugs in aquatic systems: a review.Environmental chemistry letters · 2022Review
- A narrative review of illegal online pharmacies and contemporary issues with restricting FDA-approved medication access.The journal of medicine accessReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and the related infodemic generated confusion and increased demand of various pharmaceuticals, ushering in the opportunity for illicit online vendors to fill a gap in the marketplace using potentially dangerous products. The aim of our study is to provide evidence regarding increased demand, online availability and consumer accessibility of ivermectin, an anthelmintic agent, without substantiated indications in reference to SARS-CoV-2. In our study, we combined infodemiology methodology aligned with search engine result assessment and website analytics to evaluate patient safety risks. Users' Google queries regarding ivermectin were trending and peaked during the last week of November 2020 and March 2021. Consumers more likely found links leading directly or indirectly (via redirection) to illegal online retailers representing nearly half (53.3%) of search engine result links regarding the first three result pages in December 2020 and topped off at 73.3% by March 2021. Illicit medicine retailers outnumbered and outranked their legitimate counterparts and dominated the first search engine results page. A vast majority (77.7%) of the identified online pharmacies were characteristically rogue; more than half (55.5%) offered prescription-only products without a valid medical prescription. Our results illustrate connection between infodemic and its consequences on the illicit online pharmacy market.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.