A man died after taking a deworming drug for animals after he saw fake claims online about it having anti-cancer properties, an inquest heard.
Lee Redpath, 45, died nearly two weeks after being admitted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with liver problems in April last year.
He had bought the drug fenbendazole – which is not licensed for human consumption – online from a supplier in Ukraine.
His partner told the inquest she believed a “warning should be made” about the danger of the drug.
The inquest at Lawrence Court in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was told Mr Redpath had a history of drug and excess alcohol use and was admitted to hospital complaining of jaundice and fatigue.
The coroner, Caroline Jones, said Mr Redpath told the doctors that he had seen “videos on social media sites about [fenbendazole’s] supposed anti-cancer properties”.
“Fenbendazole is not licensed for human consumption and is more commonly used in animals for the treatment of worms and parasitic infections,” she said.
Dr Gwilym Webb, a consultant hepatologist at Addenbrooke’s, told the court he believed Mr Redpath “had been taking [fenbendazole] for around three-and-a-half weeks prior to coming to hospital”.
He said it was his understanding there was “no proven benefit for taking fenbendazole for treating cancer in humans”.
Ms Jones said tests on Mr Redpath “showed that he was suffering from an acute liver injury on a background of cirrhosis due to his previous alcohol excess.”
She said it was “thought likely that the fenbendazole used over a prolonged period in high doses was the primary cause of the acute injury”.
The court heard his condition deteriorated but he was not suitable for a liver transplant.
Dr Webb said to be considered for a transplant excess alcohol use must have ceased for at least three months – in this case it was a few weeks – and “uncontrolled addiction to other substances is considered a barrier”.
Mr Redpath died on 29 April and his cause of death was determined as liver and renal failure due to fenbendazole-induced liver injury on a background of alcohol-related cirrhosis.
Ms Jones recorded his death was as a result of misadventure, adding she was concerned that false claims of fenbendazole having anti-cancer properties could “be so widely available online” and would write to the local public health for more data about the issue.
