Ivermectin: Possible New Use of an Old Drug for Vector Control

Mosquitoes feeding on blood from humans treated with ivermectin had reduced survival for up to 28 days posttreatment.

Ivermectin, used to treat parasitic infections in humans and animals, also kills mosquitoes that imbibe ivermectin-containing blood. To find out if it could serve as a vector-control tool, investigators conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, superiority trial, in which 141 Kenyans (aged, 18–50 years) with symptomatic uncomplicated malaria were assigned 1:1:1 to receive 3 days of daily treatment with ivermectin (300 or 600 μg/kg) or placebo with the standard antimalarial agent dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine. Blood collected on posttreatment days 0 to 28 was membrane-fed to laboratory-raised Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, and mosquito mortality was assessed daily for 28 days postfeeding.

Mosquito mortality 14 days after feedi…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Ivermectin: Possible New Use of an Old Drug for Vector Control

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Reviewing Author