The efficacy of artesunate in the treatment of urinary schistosomiasis in ogoja,Cross river state, nigeria

The efficacy of artesunate in the treatment of urinary schistosomiasis was investigated among 250 randomly selected subject aged 6 – 50 years in Ogoja, Nigeria. In the parasitological examination, infection was confirmed in 25 (10%) of the 250 subjects screened. Artesunate were administered orally at 4mg/kg body weight. Adverse effects due to drug reactions were assessed 3 days after medication and all perceived symptoms of illness were treated. The cure rate was evaluated after 2 weeks of treatment. There cure rate was 16 (64.0%) after treatment. There was a significant reduction in prevalence from a pre-treatment value of 10% to a post-treatment value of 3.6%. The intensity of infection also reduced significantly (p<.001) from 17.2% -3.1% for pre-treatment and post-treatment respectively giving a reduction rate of 82.1%. This study has shown that artesunate is effective in the treatment of schistosomiasis. It is recommended that a combination of artesunate and praziquantel, might produce a more effective treatment than the separate use of either drug.