The triple therapy could be a game changer in future global elimination strategies for parasitic worm infections.
Swiss TPH researchers were able to show high efficacy of a triple drug therapy against hookworm and whipworm in a clinical trial in school-aged children in Lao PDR. This new combination therapy has the potential to replace the WHO recommended standard single dose therapy which is less effective against certain parasitic worm infections. The results were published today in the Lancet Infectious Diseases. Current strategy not sufficient to control parasitic worm infections The current strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO) against soil-transmitted helminthiasis entails the administration of single dose albendazole and mebendazole to at-risk populations without prior diagnosis (so called preventive chemotherapy). Low efficacy of mebendazole against hookworm infections now threatens the success of these programmes. In addition, both mebendazole and albendazole show low efficacy against human whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). "The potential development of resistance against current drugs further threatens current treatment strategies," said Jennifer Keiser, Head of Helminth Drug Development at Swiss TPH.
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