Abstract: Trials https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-026-09736-x Article in Press Ivermectin therapy is associated with changes in SARS-CoV-2 RNA load in asymptomatic patients: a randomized controlled trial Hussein Mouawia, Hamid Saab, Hassan Ayoub, Abbas Mourad, Najwa Yaghi, Ahmad Saabi, Mohamed El-Seblani & Houssam Raad Received: 02 Jul 2025 Accepted: 14 Apr 2026 Cite this article as: Mouawia, H., Saab, H., Ayoub, H. et al. Ivermectin therapy is associated with changes in SARS-CoV-2 RNA load in asymptomatic patients: a randomized controlled trial. Trials (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s1306 3-026-09736-x A E R P S S We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply. IN If this paper is publishing under a Transparent Peer Review model then Peer Review reports will publish with the final article. I T R E L C ©The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ACCEPTED ARTICLE IN MANUSCRIPT PRESS Ivermectin Therapy is Associated with Changes in SARS-CoV-2 RNA Load in Asymptomatic Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial Hussein Mouawia*1, Hamid Bou Saab1, Hassan Ayoub2,3, Abbas mourad4, Najwa Yaghi3, Ahmad Al Saabi1, Mohamed El-Seblani1, Houssam Raad*1 1. Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Zahle, Lebanon 2. Infectious Disease Unit, Rayak Hospital and Baalbek Government Hospital, Lebanon S S E 3. Clinical Laboratory, Baalbek Government Hospital, Lebanon PR 4. Saint Joseph University, Faculty of Management and Administration, Achrafieh, Lebanon : These authors contributed equally to this work E L C * Corresponding author: I T R Dr. Houssam Raad Faculty of public health Lebanese university IN A Lebanon Email: raadhoussamrh@gmail.com or houssam.raad@ul.edu.lb (H.R.) Dr. Hussein Mouawia Faculty of public health Lebanese university Lebanon Email: houssein.mouawia@ul.edu.lb (H.R.) ACCEPTED ARTICLE IN MANUSCRIPT PRESS ABSTRACT Background: Ivermectin, an antiparasitic agent with reported antiviral properties, has been investigated for repurposing in the treatment of COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a single weight-adjusted oral dose of ivermectin in reducing viral load and improving clinical outcomes in asymptomatic individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 126..