Efficacy of praziquantel against Schistosoma mansoni in northern Senegal.
Two treatments with praziquantel (PZQ) 40 mg/kg, 40 d apart, were given to individuals in a recently established (< 6 years) Schistosoma mansoni focus in the Senegal River Basin (SRB). Efficacy of treatment was evaluated 4 weeks after each treatment. Among 130 individuals who provided stool samples on days 0, 118 and 153 and were treated on days 85 and 125, 113 (87%) were infected with S. mansoni before treatment. The overall geometric mean faecal egg count of the infected individuals was 478 eggs/g. Four weeks after the first treatment (day 118), the overall cure rate was only 42.5% and the overall reduction in intensity of infection was 70.7%. However, 4 weeks after the second treatment (day 153), the overall cure rate rose to 76.1% and the overall reduction in intensity was 88.1%. The greatest increase in cure rate between the 2 treatments was in those individuals who were initially the most heavily infected (> 1000 eggs/g). There was no apparent difference in cure rate between younger (< 20 years) and older individuals (> 20 years). No evidence for the existence of a PZQ tolerant strain of S. mansoni was found. Two treatments of PZQ 40 mg/kg, 40 d apart, were sufficient to give an adequate cure rate and high reductions in the intensity of infection. As there was insufficient time for reinfection between treatment and follow-up to result in egg production, the low cure rate observed after one treatment was probably the result of a combination of high infection intensity and the maturation of pre-existing prepatents S. mansoni infections.
Région Médicale de St Louis, Sénégal.
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Picquet
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Vercruysse
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Shaw
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Diop
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Ly
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000980:Antiplatyhelmintic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015995:Prevalence; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D012675:Senegal / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000980:Antiplatyhelmintic Agents; D011223:Praziquantel