AJTMH Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 71(6), 2004, pp. 778-782
Copyright © 2004 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by TCHUENTÉ, L.-A. T.
Right arrow Articles by VERCRUYSSE, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by TCHUENTÉ, L.-A. T.
Right arrow Articles by VERCRUYSSE, J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Schistosomiasis

EFFICACY OF PRAZIQUANTEL AGAINST SCHISTOSOMA HAEMATOBIUM INFECTION IN CHILDREN

LOUIS-ALBERT TCHUEM TCHUENTÉ, DARREN J. SHAW, LAURENT POLLA, DONATO CIOLI, AND JOZEF VERCRUYSSE
Laboratory of General Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon; Centre for Schistosomiasis and Parasitology, Yaounde, Cameroon; Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Scotland, United Kingdom; District Hospital, Loum, Cameroon; Institute of Cell Biology, Monterotondo, Rome, Italy; Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium

A study was performed to determine the efficacy of praziquantel (PZQ) against Schistosoma haematobium. Children (n = 592) infected with S. haematobium received either a single treatment with PZQ (40 mg/kg) or two or three treatments with PZQ at three-week intervals after the initial treatment and efficacy was monitored for nine weeks. Cure rates at three-weeks post-treatment were low (< 50%), suggesting either that worms are killed very slowly or, more likely, that eggs continue to be released from tissues after worm death. Interestingly, a single dose of PZQ showed high efficacy (cure rate > 83% and egg reduction rate > 98%) when assessed from six weeks post-treatment onward. There were no significant differences in cure rates or intensity of infection between the three cohorts at any point in the study, despite the different treatment regimens. Since children were in contact with transmission sites during the study period, the results suggest good efficacy of PZQ against all stages of S. haematobium, including the immature worms.

Received April 23, 2004. Accepted for publication August 5, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We are most grateful to Nyimi Nyimi (Inspector of Schools in Loum), Boniface Soh (Director of the Public School in Bonkeng), and the directors of other schools for help and assistance with sampling; and to M. Tagne for technical assistance.

Financial support: This study was supported by the European Commission INCO-DC (ICA4-CT-2001-10079), the Vl.I.R.-Flemish Inter-University Council (Belgium), the United National Development Program/World Bank/World Health Organization/Tropical Disease Research, and the Wellcome Trust (056278/Z/98/Z/MW/KO).

Authors’ addresses: Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté, Laboratory of General Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaounde I, PO Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon and Centre for Schistosomiasis and Parasitology, PO Box 7244, Yaounde, Cameroon, Telephone: 237-991-18-09, Fax: 237-221-50-77, E-mail: tchuemtchuente{at}schisto.com. Darren J. Shaw, Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, EH25 9RG, Scotland, United Kingdom, E-mail: Darren.Shaw{at}ed.ac.uk. Laurent Polla, District Hospital, PO Box 100, Loum, Cameroon, E-mail: laurentpolla{at}yahoo.fr. Donato Cioli, Institute of Cell Biology, CNR, 32 Via Ramarini, 00016 Monterotondo, Rome, Italy, E-mail: dcioli{at}ibc.cnr.it. Jozef Vercruysse, Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B9820 Merelbeke, Belgium, E-mail: jozef.vercruysse{at}UGent.be.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2004 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.