Nitazoxanide for the treatment of intestinal protozoan and helminthic infections in Mexico

Abstract

A study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nitazoxanide as a single agent for the treatment of a broad spectrum of mixed parasitic infections, both protozoa and helminths, was conducted at a primary school in San Pedro Tolimán, Querétaro, Mexico. Three faecal samples from 1824 adults and children were screened for the presence of oocysts, cysts, trophozoites, eggs or larvae of intestinal protozoa or helminths. Two hundred and forty-six adults and children infected with at least one protozoan and 2 helminths were given 7·5 mg/kg of nitazoxanide (500 mg to adults and 200 mg to children less than 12 years old) every 12 h for 3 consecutive days. Faecal samples were examined on days 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15 (±1) following initiation of treatment, using formalin-ether concentration and Kato-Katz egg counting. Treatment with nitazoxanide was 71–100% effective in eliminating evidence of infection with Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar, Giardia duodenalis, Blastocystis hominis, Isospora belli, Enterobius vermicularis, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Hymenolepis nana. Haematology and clinical chemistry values obtained before and after treatment remained unaffected by nitazoxanide. The drug was well tolerated, with only 15 patients (6·1%) reporting mild abdominal pain that lasted less than 24 h.