Due to the low efficacy of single-dose Albendazole and Mebendazole, Rwandan health officials have decided to ban these two drugs for the treatment of hookworm and effect on concomitant helminth infection, APA reliably learnt Tuesday in Kigali.
During a meeting between experts from Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), it was concluded that both Albendazole and Mebendazole showed disappointing cure results against hookworm in Rwanda.
Although albendazole cured infection and reduced intensity of infection with a higher efficacy than mebendazole, the two drugs have proven to be inefficient in treating infections with the three common soil-transmitted helminths.
These medecines which have been banned from production, sales and use are from now on excluded from the list of by national drug regulators, said the acting Director General of Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) Dr Charles Karangwa.
In Rwanda, deworming of children is done on a regular basis by giving them anti-helmenthic medicines against some of the most common worms including roundworms, hookworms and whipworms.
Roundworms, hookworms and whipworms have all been associated with impaired development, poor school performance and absenteeism in school-age children, according to official estimates.
CU/abj/APA