Intestinal worm infections, which affect about 1.5 billion people globally, could soon be tackled with a novel approach through a mango flavored pill. This new treatment, currently under development, has shown promising results in clinical trials and could help eliminate parasitic infections, particularly in developing countries where sanitation issues are prevalent.
These intestinal worms, known as soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), include common parasites like whipworms and hookworms. They are typically contracted when individuals ingest food or water contaminated with eggs from infected soil. Once inside the digestive tract, these parasites can cause a range of gastrointestinal problems, malnutrition, anemia, and even stunted growth in children.
The mango-flavored pill is a combination of two existing anti-parasitic drugs: albendazole and ivermectin. When used together, these drugs appear to offer a more effective remedy for intestinal worms than when taken separately. Researchers believe that this combination could help overcome the problem of drug resistance, a growing concern in treating parasitic infections.
“By combining two drugs with different mechanisms of action, we reduce the risk of parasites developing resistance to the treatment,” says Prof. José Muñoz, project leader of the clinical trial. The single-dose pill is easy to administer, potentially making it a game-changer for mass treatment programs in regions with high rates of worm infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set ambitious goals to eliminate soil-transmitted helminths, especially in countries where hygiene levels are inadequate. This new pill could be crucial in helping affected countries meet these goals. Unlike other treatments that require multiple doses, this pill may be administered as one single dose or a series of three pills taken over consecutive days.
In a study conducted across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique, the combination of albendazole and ivermectin proved effective against several types of intestinal parasites. However, the results were inconclusive when it came to threadworms, a different type of parasite. Despite this, researchers are optimistic that the pill’s effectiveness will translate into better outcomes in the fight against intestinal worms.
Prof. Hany Elsheikha, an expert in parasitology at the University of Nottingham, praised the pill as a “significant improvement” over current treatments. “The challenges with existing medications are well known, and this could be a major breakthrough,” he said. While the results so far are promising, he also noted that there are gaps in the study. The researchers have yet to determine how the pill would perform in adults, young children, or people living in other regions of the world.
To further assess the pill’s effectiveness, a large-scale trial involving 20,000 participants from Kenya and Ghana is already underway. Dr. Stella Kepha, a researcher from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, emphasized the pill’s potential to improve health outcomes in affected communities. However, she acknowledged that more work needs to be done before the treatment can be widely deployed.
The results of these trials are expected to be submitted to European and African regulators in early 2025. If approved, this mango-flavored pill could become a vital tool in the global fight against intestinal worms, offering a simple and efficient treatment option for millions of people in need. As the research progresses, experts remain hopeful that this new treatment will be part of a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the parasitic infection once and for all.
