Effect of artemether against Schistosoma haematobium in experimentally infected hamsters

The drug, artemether, has been shown to be active against the juvenile stag es of Schistosoma japonicum and Schistosoma mansoni in experimentally infec ted animals, while it is less effective on adult worms. These findings have been confirmed in randomised controlled trials in humans. Consequently, it could be expected that artemether is also active against Schistosoma haema tobium. We present here the first results from experiments assessing the ef fect of artemether on S. haematobium. Hamsters with a single infection rece ived intra-gastrically an initial dose of 300 mg/kg artemether on day 14, 2 1 or 28, followed by further doses at varying treatment regimens. In all th e treatment groups, the total and female worm reduction rates were highly s ignificant, and ranged from 78 to 100% in hamsters harbouring juvenile schi stosomes. Hamsters infected three times with S. haematobium, on days 0, 4 a nd 9, and repeatedly treated with artemether at the same dose as above, sho wed highly significant total and female worm reduction rates of between 94 and 99%. Artemether was also active against 77-day-old adult S. haematobium , since its administration on two consecutive days resulted in highly signi ficant total and female worm reduction rates of 76-89%. Our findings confir m that artemether is also active against S. haematobium, especially the sch istosomules. These results provide a basis for clinical trials in humans, f or further assessment of the potential of artemether for schistosomiasis co ntrol. (C) 2000 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.