Abstract
BackgroundChemotherapy with praziquantel (PZQ) has been the cornerstone of schistosomiasis control over the last two decades. Being the only available drug for the treatment of over 200 million people worldwide, continuous monitoring of PZQ efficacy under the pressure of widespread use is therefore advocated.MethodsThe efficacy of taking two doses of oral PZQ for the treatment of Schistosoma haematobium was examined among school children in Nigeria. Urine specimens were collected from 350 school children and examined using the filtration technique. Blood was collected for packed cell volume (PCV) estimation, and the weight and height of each child were estimated. S. haematobium egg positive pupils were treated with two oral doses of PZQ at 40 mg/kg with a four-week interval in between. Drug efficacy was determined based on the egg reduction rate (ERR).ResultsAmong 350 school children, 245 (70.0%) – of which 132 were males and 113 were females, with an age range of 4 to 15 years – were diagnosed with S. haematobium. All the 245 infected children received a single oral dose of 40 mg/kg PZQ twice with a four-week interval in between and were followed up for 12 weeks. At four, eight and twelve weeks post treatment, the ERR was 57.1%, 77.6% and 100%, respectively. The ERR was significantly higher among the children with a light infection compared to those with a heavy infection. One hundred and twenty-one children were egg negative at four weeks post treatment, among which 1 (6.3) and 120 (52.4%) had heavy and light infections, respectively. Following the second round of treatment, the cure rate at eight weeks and twelve weeks was 85.3% and 100%, respectively.ConclusionThis study demonstrated the efficacy of taking two doses of oral PZQ for the treatment of urinary schistosomiasis among school children in Nigeria.
Highlights
Chemotherapy with praziquantel (PZQ) has been the cornerstone of schistosomiasis control over the last two decades
Schistosomiasis is responsible for significant health problems and is a socioeconomic burden in most of Sub-Saharan Africa and some other tropical countries [1,2]
Praziquantel remains the drug of choice for the treatment of schistosomiasis in spite of cases of low cure rates that have been reported in some areas [22,23]
Summary
Chemotherapy with praziquantel (PZQ) has been the cornerstone of schistosomiasis control over the last two decades. Schistosomiasis is responsible for significant health problems and is a socioeconomic burden in most of Sub-Saharan Africa and some other tropical countries [1,2]. The antischistosomal drug of choice for the treatment of schistosomiasis is praziquantel (PZQ). It is the mainstay of the current strategy against schistosomiasis morbidity control and is highly effective against the five schistosome species that infect humans [7]. It is recommended that school-aged children and high-risk groups of adults in communities with a prevalence of 10% to 50% use it once every two years. There is evidence of clinical relevant resistance developing [9]
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