Field trials with Oltipraz against Schistosoma mansoni in the Gezira Irrigated Area, Sudan.

Oltipraz, a new antischistosomal drug, has been field tested in Sudan for acceptability, tolerance and efficacy against Schistosoma mansoni. One hundred and fifty-one school children aged 7 to 12 years were selected for treatment with 20 mg/kg Oltipraz, 78 with a single dose and 73 with a split dose, on the same day. The drug was well tolerated except that 20 children in one school complained of fingertip pain. Parasitological follow-up after 5 weeks, 3 and 6 months produced cure rates (i.e., 2 negative stools) of 41 to 72% with the single dose and 53 to 75% with the split dose. The overall egg output reduction was over 95% from a pretreatment geometric mean egg count of 840 eggs/g. These results indicate that a 20-mg/kg dose of Oltipraz can effectively reduce egg counts but that a larger dose will be required to produce higher cure rates.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes