Substandard and falsified antimicrobials in selected east African countries: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Globally, millions of people have been affected by fraudulent pharmaceutical products, particularly those in developing countries. Although the problem of falsified and substandard drugs is acknowledged, the extent of the issue is ever-changing, has a dynamic nature, and should be quantified and captured in a recent snapshot. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review seeks to examine the data that can quantify and provide a current snapshot of the prevalence of SF antimicrobials in selected east Africa countries. METHODS: Scientific studies on antimicrobial quality were searched in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar from 2017 to February 2023. The search strategy focused on scientific articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals written in English and the studies exclusively done in any of the selected countries of east Africa. The articles were carefully reviewed by two individuals for inclusion independently, first by title followed by abstract and the full-text retrieval. To minimize bias associated with the methodology used for data collection, the quality of the studies was assessed for quality according to the Medicine Quality Assessment Reporting Guidelines (MEDQUARG). The reporting of this systematic review was done following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). RESULTS: Fifteen studies that estimated the prevalence of poor-quality antimicrobial medicines in selected four east African countries were included. The overall percentage of samples of antimicrobials that failed at least one quality test was 22.6% (151/669) with each class's prevalence of 17% in antibiotics (73/432), 24% in antimalarial (41/171), and 56% in anthelmintics (37/66). Quality control parameters of API content were the most commonly examined in the included studies, accounting for 14/15 (93%) studies. Fifty (33.1%) of the failing samples failed assay API- content determination, while 26.5% (n = 40) failed the visual inspection and packaging analysis; 19.2% (29) failed dissolution; 14% (n = 21) flawed hardness or friability; 4%(n = 6) failed uniformity, as well as 3.2% (n = 5) failed disintegration test of the quality control parameter. CONCLUSION: It was found that this review was general in these selected east African countries and was a catalyst for combating the menace of poor-quality medications that affect millions of lives.

Effectiveness of a novel orally administered combination drug product containing milbemycin oxime and lotilaner (Credelio® Plus) for the treatment of larval and immature adult stages of Ancylostoma caninum in experimentally infected dogs.

BACKGROUND: The hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum, is a common and important zoonotic intestinal nematode parasite that infects dogs globally. Both the immature and adult stages of A. caninum ingest large volumes of blood during the feeding process and can cause severe anemia and death in young dogs, even before patent infections can be diagnosed using routine faecal examination methods. Thus, effective treatment of any pre-patent stages of immature hookworms can reduce or eliminate the risk of clinical disease in infected dogs and additionally reduce environmental contamination of eggs and infective larvae. Two randomized, blinded, GCP-compliant, pivotal laboratory dose confirmation studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a new novel combination of lotilaner and milbemycin oxime tablets (Credelio Plus®) administered orally to dogs experimentally infected with immature (L4 and immature adult [L5]) stages of A. caninum. METHODS: Treatments using the intended global commercial tablet formulation of Credelio Plus were administered in a time frame relative to inoculation with infective larvae so that effectiveness could be assessed against each specific immature stage of A. caninum. In each study, dogs were randomized to one of six (study 1) or four (study 2) treatment groups. Each treatment group contained 8 (study 1) or 10 (study 2) dogs that had been experimentally inoculated with infective A. caninum larvae on day 0 and were dosed once on day 7 or day 11. Enrolled subjects were administered placebo tablets, Credelio Plus tablets, or lotilaner mono tablets to provide minimum dosages of 0.75 mg/kg of milbemycin oxime and 20 mg/kg of lotilaner. All dogs were necropsied 5 days after their respective treatment. All nematodes recovered from the gastrointestinal tract at necropsy were counted by species and stage. RESULTS: For both dose confirmation studies and based on geometric mean worm counts, efficacy of Credelio Plus was ≥ 97.3% against L4 larval stage of A. caninum and ≥ 98.7% against immature adult (L5) A. caninum. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrated that the orally administered Credelio Plus combination tablet was highly efficacious in treating immature (L4 and immature adult [L5]) stages of A. caninum in experimentally infected dogs.

Effectiveness of Credelio® Plus, a novel chewable tablet containing milbemycin oxime and lotilaner for the treatment of larval and immature adult stages of Toxocara canis in experimentally infected dogs.

BACKGROUND: The ascarid, Toxocara canis, is a common and important zoonotic intestinal nematode parasite that infects dogs globally. An effective treatment that kills any pre-patent stages of immature T. canis could additionally reduce or eliminate the development of patent infections that can result in clinical disease in infected dogs and would further reduce environmental contamination of eggs. Two randomized, blinded, GCP-compliant, pivotal laboratory dose confirmation studies were conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of a new novel combination of lotilaner and milbemycin oxime tablets (Credelio Plus) administered orally to dogs that were experimentally infected with immature (L4 or immature adult [L5]) stages of T. canis. METHODS: The commercial tablet formulation of Credelio Plus® was administered in a time frame relative to inoculation with infective eggs. This allowed for effectiveness to be assessed against each specific immature stage of T. canis. In each study, dogs were randomized and allocated to one of four treatment groups. Each treatment group contained ten dogs that had been experimentally inoculated on Day 0 with infective T. canis eggs and then were dosed once on Day 14 or Day 24 using either placebo tablets or Credelio Plus tablets (IP) to provide minimum dosages of 0.75 mg/kg of milbemycin oxime and 20 mg/kg of lotilaner. All dogs were necropsied 5 or 6 days after their respective treatment. At necropsy, all nematodes recovered from the gastrointestinal tract were counted by species and stage. RESULTS: In both dose confirmation studies using geometric mean worm counts, effectiveness of Credelio Plus was ≥ 98.6% and ≥ 96.8% against L4 larval stage T. canis and immature adult [L5] T. canis in both studies, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrated that the Credelio Plus combination tablet administered orally to dogs was highly efficacious against experimental infections with L4 and immature adult [L5] stages of T. canis.

Current Challenges for Fasciolicide Treatment in Ruminant Livestock.

Pharmacological treatment remains essential to control fasciolosis in areas where infection is endemic. However, there are major constraints to treating food-producing animals. Of particular concern is the lack of flukicides for treating early Fasciola infections in ruminant livestock in some countries. In addition, the information provided in package leaflets, particularly regarding withdrawal periods, is often incomplete, confusing, and/or contradictory. International regulatory bodies should harmonize the use of flukicides in livestock in favor of fairer, safer international trade. In addition, monitoring the efficacy of fasciolicides on farms is also essential to minimize the spread of drug-resistant populations of Fasciola. The current situation regarding flukicide formulations in the European Union and other, non-European countries is analyzed in this review paper.

Efficacy of China-made praziquantel for treatment of Schistosomiasis haematobium in Africa: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: In the roadmap on the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) the World Health Organization (WHO) aims at attaining at least 75% coverage of preventive chemotherapy in pre-school and school-age children by 2020. A randomized controlled trial was used to compare the effectiveness of praziquantel in treating Schistosoma haematobium in Africa using two different sources for the drug, Merck Limited Partnership (KgaA), Germany and Nanjing Pharmaceutical Factory (NPF), China. METHODS: More than 6,000 participants testing positive for S. haematobium infection were enrolled from three villages (shehias) situated in the northern, middle and southern part of Pemba Island, Zanzibar. Applying criteria of inclusion and exclusion, resulted in a study population of 152 people (84 males, 68 females). A randomized controlled trial was conducted assigning participants to either praziquantel from NPF or Merck KGaA. After one month, the cure rate of S. haematobium and adverse events were compared to evaluate effectiveness. The ratio of male to female, the ratio of light/high infection intensity, and the average value of age were calculated between the two drug manufacturers. Chi-squared test and T-test were used for consistency analysis. RESULTS: Out of the total of 73 cases receiving praziquantel from NPF, the cure rate achieved was 97.3% (73/75), while the 74 cases receiving the drug from Merck KgaA reached a similar cure rate (96.1% or 74/77). There was no significant difference between the two outcomes (χ2 = 0.003, P = 0.956). Among the 75 patients treat, only one (a 16-years old female student), who had received the drug made in China had slight adverse reactions manifested as dizziness, headache and abdominal pain. CONCLUSION: The efficacy of China-made praziquantel does not differ significantly from praziquantel made by Merck KGaA in Germany. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03133832.

Accuracy of the WHO praziquantel dose pole for large-scale community treatment of urogenital schistosomiasis in northern Mozambique: Is it time for an update?

BACKGROUND: A pioneering strategy developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the control of schistosomiasis was the concept of a height-based dose pole to determine praziquantel (PZQ) dosing in large-scale treatment campaigns. However, some recent studies have shown variable accuracy for the dose pole in terms of predicting correct mg/Kg dosing, particularly for treatment of adults. According to the WHO, 91 million adults in 52 countries are targeted to be treated by 2020. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study aimed to test the accuracy of the dose pole in determining PZQ dosage by comparing the number of tablets determined by the dose pole with the number of tablets determined according to total body weight. The analysis included height-for-weight data from 9,827 school-aged children (SAC) and adults from 42 villages in the province of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique. The results revealed that of the 7,596 SAC, 91.8% has received an appropriate dose (30-60mg/Kg), 6% received an insufficient dose (<30mg/Kg) and 2% an excessive dose (> 60mg/Kg). On the other hand, 13.7% out of 2,231 adults were treated inaccurately with 13.5% receiving an insufficient dose and 0.2% an excessive dose. When the percentage of insufficient dosing was disaggregated by gender, the frequency of adult females who were underdosed reached 18.3% versus 10.8% of adult males. Of note, Adult females aged 21-55 years were found to have an underdose frequency of 21.3%, compared to 11.8% of adult males in the same age range. The performance of a proposed modified dose pole was compared using the same dataset of adult Mozambicans. The results showed that the modified dose pole reduced the underdose frequency among adults from 13.5% to 10.4%, and subsequently increased the percentage of optimal dosing from 33.7% to 45.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the need to update the WHO-dose pole to avoid administration of insufficient PZQ doses to adults and therefore minimize the potential emergence of PZQ-resistant strains. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial registry under ISRTC number 14117624.

100 Years of Mass Deworming Programmes: A Policy Perspective From the World Bank's Disease Control Priorities Analyses.

For more than 100 years, countries have used mass drug administration as a public health response to soil-transmitted helminth infection. The series of analyses published as Disease Control Priorities is the World Bank's vehicle for exploring the cost-effectiveness and value for money of public health interventions. The first edition was published in 1993 as a technical supplement to the World Bank's World Development Report Investing in Health where deworming was used as an illustrative example of value for money in treating diseases with relatively low morbidity but high prevalence. Over the second (2006) and now third (2017) editions deworming has been an increasingly persuasive example to use for this argument. The latest analyses recognize the negative impact of intestinal worm infection on human capital in poor communities and document a continuing decline in worm infection as a result of the combination of high levels of mass treatment and ongoing economic development trends in poor communities.

The 3Rs Concept: Time to Change How We Evaluate the Efficacy of Anthelmintics in Companion Animals.

Experimental infections are required by current guidelines for investigating the efficacy of anthelmintics in dogs and cats. Recently, alternatives to experimental infections and the sacrificing of research dogs and cats have been evaluated, and novel conceptual investigations and methods of examination have been explored. Several of these approaches could potentially be used in efficacy studies for anthelmintics in dogs and cats. Here, we provide food for thought towards using new tools for evaluating the efficacy of anthelmintics in companion animals, for promoting the value of field trials, and for updating the existing guidelines for the efficacy testing of anthelmintics in dogs and cats.

Quality of anthelminthic medicines available in Jimma Ethiopia.

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis are major public health problems in Ethiopia. Mass deworming of at-risk population using a single dose administration of 400mg albendazole (ABZ) or 500mg mebendazole (MBZ) for treatment of common intestinal worms and 40mg of praziquantel (PZQ) per kg body weight for treatment of schistosomiasis is one of the strategies recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) in order to control the morbidity of soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis. Since storage condition, climate, way of transportation and distribution route could all affect the quality of medicines, regular assessment by surveys is very critical to ensure the therapeutic outcome, to minimize risk of toxicity to the patient and resistance of parasites. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the pharmaceutical quality of ABZ, MBZ and PZQ tablet brands commonly available in Jimma town (south west Ethiopia). Retail pharmacies (n=10) operating in Jimma town were selected using simple random sampling method. Samples of anthelminthic medicines available in the selected pharmacies were collected. Sample information was recorded and encompassed trade name, active ingredient name, manufacturer's name and full address, labeled medicine strength, dosage form, number of units per container, dosage statement, batch/lot number, manufacturing and expiry dates, storage information and presence of leaflets/package insert. Moreover, a first visual inspection was performed encompassing uniformity of color, uniformity of size, breaks, cracks, splits, embedded surface spots or visual contaminations. Finally, physico-chemical quality attributes investigated encompassed mass uniformity, quantity of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), disintegration and dissolution, all following Pharmacopoeial test methods The physical characteristics of dosage form, packaging and labeling information of all samples complied with criteria given in the WHO checklists. The mass uniformity of tablets of each brand of ABZ, MBZ and PZQ complied with the pharmacopoeial specification limits, i.e no more than 2 individual masses >5% of average tablet weight, and none deviate by more than 10%. The quantity of APIs in all investigated tablet brands were within the 90-110% label claim (l.c.) limits, ranging between 95.05 and 110.09% l.c. Disintegration times were in line with the pharmacopoeial specification limit for immediate release (IR) tablets, ranging between 0.5 and 13min. However, the dissolution results (mean±SD, n=6) of one ABZ brand (i.e. Wormin®, Q=59.21±0.99% at 30min) and two PZQ brands (i.e. Bermoxel®, Q=63.43%±0.7 and Distocide®, Q=62.43%±1.67, at 75min) showed poor dissolution, failing the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) dissolution specification limit.

Zero-inflated hierarchical models for faecal egg counts to assess anthelmintic efficacy.

The prevalence of anthelmintic resistance has increased in recent years, as a result of the extensive use of anthelmintic drugs to reduce the infection of parasitic worms in livestock. In order to detect the resistance, the number of parasite eggs in animal faeces is counted. Typically a subsample of the diluted faeces is examined, and the mean egg counts from both untreated and treated animals are compared. However, the conventional method ignores the variabilities introduced by the counting process and by different infection levels across animals. In addition, there can be extra zero counts, which arise as a result of the unexposed animals in an infected population or animals. In this paper, we propose the zero-inflated Bayesian hierarchical models to estimate the reduction in faecal egg counts. The simulation study compares the Bayesian models with the conventional faecal egg count reduction test and other methods such as bootstrap and quasi-Poisson regression. The results show the Bayesian models are more robust and they perform well in terms of both the bias and the coverage. We further illustrate the advantages of our proposed model using a case study about the anthelmintic resistance in Swedish sheep flocks.

Recent advances in Echinococcus genomics and stem cell research.

Alveolar and cystic echinococcosis, caused by the metacestode larval stages of the tapeworms Echinococcus multilocularis and Echinococcus granulosus, respectively, are life-threatening diseases and very difficult to treat. The introduction of benzimidazole-based chemotherapy, which targets parasite ß-tubulin, has significantly improved the life-span and prognosis of echinococcosis patients. However, benzimidazoles show only parasitostatic activity, are associated with serious adverse side effects and have to be administered for very long time periods, underlining the need for new drugs. Very recently, the nuclear genomes of E. multilocularis and E. granulosus have been characterised, revealing a plethora of data for gaining a deeper understanding of host-parasite interaction, parasite development and parasite evolution. Combined with extensive transcriptome analyses of Echinococcus life cycle stages these investigations also yielded novel clues for targeted drug design. Recent years also witnessed significant advancements in the molecular and cellular characterisation of the Echinococcus 'germinative cell' population, which forms a unique stem cell system that differs from stem cells of other organisms in the expression of several genes associated with the maintenance of pluripotency. As the only parasite cell type capable of undergoing mitosis, the germinative cells are central to all developmental transitions of Echinococcus within the host and to parasite expansion via asexual proliferation. In the present article, we will briefly introduce and discuss recent advances in Echinococcus genomics and stem cell research in the context of drug design and development. Interestingly, it turns out that benzimidazoles seem to have very limited effects on Echinococcus germinative cells, which could explain the high recurrence rates observed after chemotherapeutic treatment of echinococcosis patients. This clearly indicates that future efforts into the development of parasitocidal drugs should also target the parasite's stem cell system.

Quality of medicines commonly used in the treatment of soil transmitted helminths and giardia in ethiopia: a nationwide survey.

BACKGROUND: The presence of poor quality medicines in the market is a global threat on public health, especially in developing countries. Therefore, we assessed the quality of two commonly used anthelminthic drugs [mebendazole (MEB) and albendazole (ALB)] and one antiprotozoal drug [tinidazole (TNZ)] in Ethiopia. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A multilevel stratified random sampling, with as strata the different levels of supply chain system in Ethiopia, geographic areas and government/privately owned medicines outlets, was used to collect the drug samples using mystery shoppers. The three drugs (106 samples) were collected from 38 drug outlets (government/privately owned) in 7 major cities in Ethiopia between January and March 2012. All samples underwent visual and physical inspection for labeling and packaging before physico-chemical quality testing and evaluated based on individual monographs in Pharmacopoeias for identification, assay/content, dosage uniformity, dissolution, disintegration and friability. In addition, quality risk was analyzed using failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) and a risk priority number (RPN) was assigned to each quality attribute. A clinically rationalized desirability function was applied in quantification of the overall quality of each medicine. Overall, 45.3% (48/106) of the tested samples were substandard, i.e. not meeting the pharmacopoeial quality specifications claimed by their manufacturers. Assay was the quality attribute most often out-of-specification, with 29.2% (31/106) failure of the total samples. The highest failure was observed for MEB (19/42, 45.2%), followed by TNZ (10/39, 25.6%) and ALB (2/25, 8.0%). The risk analysis showed that assay (RPN = 512) is the most critical quality attribute, followed by dissolution (RPN = 336). Based on Derringer's desirability function, samples were classified into excellent (14/106,13%), good (24/106, 23%), acceptable (38/106, 36%%), low (29/106, 27%) and bad (1/106,1%) quality. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study evidenced that there is a relatively high prevalence of poor quality MEB, ALB and TNZ in Ethiopia: up to 45% if pharmacopoeial acceptance criteria are used in the traditional, dichotomous approach, and 28% if the new risk-based desirability approach was applied. The study identified assay as the most critical quality attributes. The country of origin was the most significant factor determining poor quality status of the investigated medicines in Ethiopia.

New advancement in anthelmintic drugs in veterinary medicine.

Anthelmintic treatment of nematode infections remains the mainstay of worm control in farm and companion animals. However, control is threatened by the occurrence of drug resistant nematodes. In recent years, three new anthelmintics have been introduced to the market. Here, we describe the main features including mode of action, availability, spectrum, dose, tolerability, safety, and resistance of emodepside, monepantel, and derquantel.

Trends in monitoring residues of pharmacologically active group B substances in products of animal origin in Lithuania from 1999 to 2008.

Monitoring data of group B pharmacologically active substances in the Republic of Lithuania during the period 1999-2008 are presented. Peer review is based on data taken from residue-monitoring plans of the years 1999-2008 and the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute reports on analyses performed in various foods. The data were analysed with the SPSS statistical package. Analysis of group B pharmacologically active substances residues monitoring results from the years 1999-2008 revealed that 25,030 samples were tested to detect 421 (1.68%) non-compliant samples in three groups of substances: antibacterials, anthelmintics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Most residues (88.3%) were found in milk, and were far less in beef, pork, sheep and goat meat.

[New drugs for horses and production animals in 2010]. / Neue Arzneimittel für Pferde und landwirtschaftliche Nutztiere 2010.

In 2010, three new active pharmaceutical ingredients were released on the German market for horses and food-producing animals. These were gamithromycin (Zactran®), a new macrolide antibiotic, Monepantel (Zolvix®), a broad spectrum anthelmintic with a novel mechanism, and Pergolide (Prascend®), the first dopamine receptor agonist for animals. Two substances have been approved for additional species. The tetracycline antibiotic doxycycline is now also authorized for turkeys and the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug firocoxib from the group of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors is now available for horses. Furthermore, four new preparations with an interesting new pharmaceutical form, one drug with a new formulation and two drugs, which are interesting because of other criteria, were added to the market for horses and food producing animals.

Effectiveness of various anthelmintics in the treatment of moniliformiasis in experimentally infected Wistar rats.

Humans occasionally become infected with acanthocephalans, particularly Moniliformis moniliformis. Although several anthelmintics have been used, no controlled studies have been conducted to assess the efficacy of common anthelmintics in the treatment of moniliformiasis. The effectiveness of pyrantel pamoate, ivermectin, praziquantel, niclosamide, thiabendazole, and mebendazole was evaluated in the treatment of moniliformiasis in laboratory-infected female Wistar rats. Pyrantel pamoate and ivermectin were wholly unsuccessful in the treatment of moniliformiasis. A single dose of thiabendazole lead to a 40% reduction and two doses lead to a 57% reduction of worm burden after 2 weeks. The most effective drug in the treatment of moniliformiasis in rats was mebendazole, for which two doses resulted in a 69% reduction in worm burden after 2 weeks; however, 50% of the rats receiving the treatment died within 2 weeks after first administration of the drug. Two surviving rats that had been treated with mebendazole exhibited evidence of hepatic dysfunction characterized by extremely elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase in conjuction with depressed serum albumin levels. It is hypothesized that Mo. moniliformis may metabolize the drug and release a metabolite that is highly toxic to the host. On the basis of these data, thiabendazole is recommended as the drug of choice for the treatment of human acanthocephaliasis until more extensive testing can be conducted.

Efficacy of anthelmintics on South American camelid (llama and alpaca) farms in Georgia.

The number of South American camelid (SAC; llama and alpaca) farms is growing in the southeastern United States, and infection with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) is a major health concern in this region. There is widespread resistance to anthelmintic remedies in small ruminants (sheep and goats), but a paucity of information on llamas and alpacas. Anthelmintic resistance was evaluated on three SAC farms (two llama; one alpaca) in Georgia in the southern United States using fecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests. For each farm, animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatment groups based on initial fecal egg count (FEC) and number of animals available (2-5 groups, n=9-11 per treatment). Ivermectin (IVM, subcutaneous injection; 0.3mg/kg body weight (BW)) and a control group were tested on an alpaca farm, and fenbendazole (FBZ, oral; 10mg/kg BW; two farms), moxidectin (MOX oral; 0.2mg/kg BW; two farms), and levamisole (LEV, oral; 8 mg/kg BW; one farm) were added for the llama farms. Anthelmintic efficacy was determined by comparing FEC of treatment and control animals 14 days post-treatment, with resistance evaluated using the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP) guidelines. Based upon these guidelines, there was GIN resistance to IVM in both llamas and alpacas in Georgia and to FBZ on both llama farms where this drug was tested. There was MOX resistance on one llama farm using the FECR test, while there was no resistance to LEV detected in this study. These data demonstrate a serious emerging problem in the United States of llama and alpaca GIN resistant to drugs from two of the three major anthelmintic classes.

Efficacy of pyrantel pamoate and ivermectin paste formulations against naturally acquired Oxyuris equi infections in horses.

In recent years, numerous veterinary practitioners have reported anecdotal episodes in which anthelmintic treatment did not appear to deliver the expected efficacy against equine pinworms (Oxyuris equi). Anthelmintic resistance has not been demonstrated formally in equine pinworms, so a clinical study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of paste formulations of pyrantel pamoate or ivermectin against naturally acquired infections with O. equi. Twenty-one horses (>4 months to 15 years of age) with patent, naturally acquired pinworm infections were blocked by source of origin and allocated randomly to one of three treatment groups: horses (n=7) assigned to Group 1 were treated orally with pyrantel pamoate paste at a dosage of 13.2 mg/kg (2x label dosage), Group 2 horses (n=7) were untreated controls, and horses (n=7) assigned to Group 3 were treated orally with ivermectin paste at a dosage of 200 microg/kg. Fourteen days after treatment, horses were euthanatized, necropsied, and large intestinal contents were processed for recovery of adult pinworms. In addition, duplicate 1% aliquots of intestinal contents from the cecum, ventral colon, dorsal colon, and small colon were collected, preserved, and examined for recovery and enumeration of fourth-stage larval O. equi. Anthelmintic efficacy against pinworms was evaluated by comparing the post-treatment worm counts of Groups 1 and 3 to those of control animals. Mean numbers of O. equi adults recovered postmortem were significantly decreased by both pyrantel pamoate (P=0.0366) and ivermectin (P=0.0137) treatment, with respective efficacies of 91.2% and 96.0%. In addition, both products demonstrated >99% efficacy against fourth-stage O. equi larvae. The current study demonstrated acceptable adulticidal and larvicidal efficacy of both pyrantel pamoate and ivermectin paste formulations against O. equi and did not support the existence of macrocyclic lactone or pyrimidine resistance in the pinworm populations evaluated.

Efficacy of pyrantel pamoate against a macrocyclic lactone-resistant isolate of Parascaris equorum in horses.

The expanding prevalence of Parascaris equorum populations that are resistant to macrocyclic lactone (ML) anthelmintics makes it desirable to identify dewormers which remain effective. The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of pyrantel pamoate in 14 suckling foals that had been infected orally with approximately 600 larvated eggs of a P. equorum isolate selected for ML resistance (ML-R). Seventy days after inoculation, foals were weaned, housed individually, and fecal samples were examined frequently to detect the onset of patency. Between 73 and 80 days post-inoculation, all 14 foals developed P. equorum egg counts>or=150 eggs per gram (EPG). An initial cohort of eight foals was treated orally with ivermectin paste (200 microg/kg) 84-91 days post-inoculation. Egg counts were reduced by only 47% at 2 weeks after ivermectin treatment, confirming the ML-R status of the isolate. A second cohort of six foals was not treated with ivermectin. Within each cohort, eligible foals were allocated randomly to treated (pyrantel pamoate; n=7) or untreated control (n=7) groups. Treated foals were dosed orally on Day 0 with a paste formulation of pyrantel pamoate at 13.2mg/kg. Mean ascarid egg counts of treated foals were reduced by 96.0% and 98.8% at 1 and 2 weeks post-treatment, respectively. On Day 14, foals were euthanatized and specimens of P. equorum were recovered from the gut contents, preserved in 10% formalin, and counted. Mean numbers of P. equorum adults recovered postmortem were significantly lower (P=0.0031) in foals treated with pyrantel pamoate (X=1.7; range 0-16) compared to control foals (X=63.0; range 0-320). A paste formulation of pyrantel pamoate, at a dosage of 13.2 mg/kg, was 97.3% effective against a ML-R isolate of P. equorum.

Prevalence of counterfeit anthelminthic medicines: a cross-sectional survey in Cambodia.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of counterfeit anthelminthic medicines in Cambodia, and to determine influential factors. METHODS: Commonly used anthelminthic medicines were collected from private drug outlets. Medicines were carefully observed including their registration labelling, and their authenticity was investigated with the manufacturers and the Medicines Regulatory Authorities. Samples were analysed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography at the National Health Product Quality Control Centre, Cambodia. RESULTS: Two hundred and three samples of anthelminthics were collected from 137 drug stores. Domestic products constituted 36.9%. Of 196 samples which were verified for registration, 15.8% were not registered. Of 165 samples successfully investigated for their authenticity, 7 (4.2%) were identified as counterfeit. All of these medicines were purchased in open packs or containers, and most of them were foreign manufactured and/or without registration. CONCLUSION: The results of our survey urge strict implementation of drug registration and vigilance on the availability of unregistered medicines to combat counterfeit medicines in Cambodia.