摘要
Despite increased international efforts to control schistosomiasis using preventive chemotherapy,several challenges still exist in reaching the target populations.Until recently,preschool-aged children had been excluded from the recommended target population for mass drug administration,i.e.primary school children aged 6-15 years.Our studies and those of others provided the evidence base for the need to treat preschool-aged children that led to recommendations by the World Health Organization to include preschool-aged children in treatment programmes in 2010.The major challenge now lies in the unavailability of a child-size formulation of the appropriate anthelmintic drug,praziquantel.The currently available formulation of praziquantel presents several problems.First,it is a large tablet,making it difficult for young children and infants to swallow it and thus requires its breaking/crushing to allow for safe uptake.Second,it is bitter so it is often mixed with a sweetener to make it palatable for young children.Third,the current formulation of 600 mg does not allow for flexible dose adjustments for this age group.Thus,there is a need to formulate a child-appropriate praziquantel tablet.This paper discusses the target product profile for paediatric praziquantel,as well as knowledge gaps pertinent to the successful control of schistosome infection and disease in preschool-aged children.
基金
The discussion presented in this paper is based on current and previous collaborative work funded by the Thrasher Research Fund,the WHO and the Wellcome Trust。
