“Hantavirus is a RNA virus, and ivermectin should work against it,” claims a May 6, 2026 post on X from Mary Talley Bowden, an ear, nose, and throat doctor suspended in 2021 by Houston Methodist Hospital for spreading Covid-19 misinformation ….
The following day, she posted to say she would be selling ivermectin to Texans with no prescription needed.
…
… Despite clinical trial data failing to demonstrate it is effective in treating infections in humans, the drug is regularly touted in health misinformation.
Other users spread Bowden’s claim across platforms amid a resurgence of Covid-era misinformation that followed the deadly outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship.
Related on the SLP
Ideological red flag: Led by anti-vax doctor, Tennessee is now the U.S. epicenter selling potent ivermectin shown worthless to prevent or treat Covid
Viewpoint: Is there new evidence that the animal deworming drug ivermectin decreases the risk of Covid and cancer? Don’t waste your money.
Newest hantavirus conspiracy: Online disinformation turns outbreak into latest ivermectin grift
“There are no current treatments that we have that are effective against the hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome,” [said Michelle Harkins, chief of the pulmonary critical care division at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine].
Asked about ivermectin, she said there is “no evidence this would ever work for a hantavirus.”
John Lednicky, research professor at the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida, agreed, telling AFP there is “extreme misinformation about ivermectin.”
