Efficacy of Praziquantel in treating Schistosoma mansoni infected School children in Tumuga and Waja, north Ethiopia

T Dejenie,M Abdelkadir,T Asmelash

doi:10.4314/mejs.v2i2.57669

Abstract

Praziquantel (PZQ) is a drug of choice for treating schistosomiasis mansoni. Praziquantel was effectively used to treat schistosomiasis, but there are reports that indicate the appearance of Praziquantel resistance. The objective of this study was to determine the rate of S. mansoni infection before and after single treatment, thus to measure the efficacy of Praziquantel in treating Schistosoma mansoni infected individuals in the study area. The study utilized microscopic examination of two Kato–Katz slides for each individual sample before and after treatment. The cure rate of S. mansoni infection by Praziquantel in the two study areas remains high and with no significant difference. In Timuga cure rate was 93.44% and in Waja 88.99% (?2= 3.644 and P= 0.16). Efficacy of Praziquantel in treating infections due to S. mansoni is still high and there is no evidence for resistance S. mansoni against Praziquantel in Tumuga and Waja. Key words: Efficacy, Praziquantel, Schistosomiasis, School children.

Highlights

Schistosomiasis is responsible for 500,000 deaths annually (Dupre et al, 1999)
When compared with previous studies in Tumuga (Author, 2009), the prevalence of S. mansoni infection was 87%, in this report the infection reduces by 27.7% (Tadesse and Beyene, 2009)
The results of the present study indicated that there is no sex difference in S. mansoni infection in both pre- and post-treatment tests

Summary

Introduction

Schistosomiasis is responsible for 500,000 deaths annually (Dupre et al, 1999). As reduction of schistosomiasis is still beyond human and financial resources, the aim of most control programs remains the reduction of morbidity by treating infected people on an individual or population basis by using chemotherapy agents such as Praziquantel (WHO, 1993). Praziquantel was effectively used to treat schistosomiasis since the last two decades (WHO, 1993; Magnussen, 2003). As the drug is supplied by a reasonable price in hospitals, still in Ethiopia, especially in the study area, Praziquantel is the drug of choice in treating schistosome infected individuals. Praziquantel is a drug of choice for treating schistosomiasis mansoni (Day et al, 1992, Redman et al, 1995). It has been reported that Praziquantel has shown a remarkable impact in reducing morbidity due to schistosomiasis (WHO, 2000).

Objectives

Methods

Results