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ADVERSE REACTIONS TO IVERMECTIN TREATMENT IN SIMULIUM NEAVEI–TRANSMITTED ONCHOCERCIASIS

To assess adverse effects of ivermectin treatment in a Simulium neavei-transmitted focus of onchocerciasis, a study was conducted with 1,246 patients infected with Onchocerca volvulus in eight villages in western Uganda. Study participants were treated the first time with a single dose of 150 µg/kg of ivermectin. Adverse reactions to ivermectin were determined through questioning and clinical examination during house-to-house visits to the participants within 48 hours after ivermectin treatment. Overall adverse reactions were observed in 737 (59.1%) patients. Severe reactions were rare (10 patients, 1.4%). Our data show that adverse reactions to ivermectin in an S. neavei-transmitted onchocerciasis focus in western Uganda occur frequently. In spite of the fact that many patients showed adverse reactions to ivermectin, the drug was well accepted and appreciated by the population.

Received February 18, 2003. Accepted for publication June 6, 2003.

Acknowledgments: We thank the Ministry of Health in Uganda for its support of this work and permission for publication. We are indebted to the late Dr. Charles Masheija and the District Medical Officers in the Kabarole district, who provided advice during this study. We are also indebted to M. Androvule, N. G. Asaba, W. J. Bagonza, Dr. M. Büttner, S. Kwebiiha, and E. Tugesika for their help in the data collection. We also acknowledge the contributions of all other staff members of the Kabarole District Health Management Team during the field work.

Financial support: The study was supported by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusam-menarbeit (GTZ) in Eschborn, FRG, through the project PN 87.2591.3 (Basic Health Services, western Uganda).

Authors’ addresses: Walter Kipp, Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, 13-103 Clinical Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G3, Canada, Telephone: 780-492-8643, Fax: 780-492-0364, E-mail: walter.kipp{at}ualberta.ca. Jotham Bamhuhiiga and Tom Rubaale, PO Box 27, Fort Portal, Uganda. Dietrich W. Büttner, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Strasse 74, 20539 Hamburg, Germany.