Rejected petition Make it illegal for doctors to refuse to prescribe drugs for hard to detect NTDs
At present GPs & tropical disease specialists in the UK refuse to prescribe medicine like ivermectin/albendazole on a presumptive basis, even though this is recommended by the CDC. NTDs like strongyloides stercoralis are deadly and can cause asthma, pneumonia, sepsis & bacterial meningitis.
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We don't have reliable tests for NTDs like strongyloides stercoralis, yet doctors refuse to prescribe on a presumptive basis. NHS prescription data shows that the amount of medicine prescribed for this common parasite is very low. The parasite can be passed on via textiles & shower rooms.The parasite bites through the lungs. It's a common parasite that is likely to affect BAME. At a certain stage, the survival rate is only 20%. I am especially concerned about comorbidity with covid 19.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
We can't accept your petition because the UK Government and Parliament aren't responsible for the issue you raise.
Prescribing guidelines in the UK are a matter for NICE. You can find out more about what NICE says about treatments for strongyloides stercoralis here: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summary/helminth-infections.html
You can find out more about NICE prescribing guidelines here: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/guidance/guidance-on-prescribing.html
In any case, whether to prescribe a medicine to a particular person is a clinical decision for their doctor.
You could start a new petition about something the UK Parliament and Government are responsible for. For example, you could start a new petition asking the UK Government to review access to appropriate treatments for people affected by "neglected tropical diseases", of that's something you'd like to happen.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.