Triple-Drug Therapy Superior to Two Drugs for Treating Lymphatic Filariasis

Three years after a single dose of a three-drug regimen, 96% of participants with lymphatic filariasis remained clear of microfilariae.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has targeted lymphatic filariasis for elimination by 2020. Despite progress achieved using mass drug administration (MDA), an estimated 852 million people in 52 countries still require preventive chemotherapy. Can outcomes from MDA programs be improved?

Researchers randomized 182 adults (1:1:1) in Papua New Guinea with Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaremia to receive a single dose of a three-drug regimen, a single dose of a two-drug regimen, or a two-drug regimen yearly for 3 years. The two-drug regimen included diethylcarbamazine (6 mg/kg) and albendazole (400 mg). The three-drug regimen added ivermectin (200 μg/kg). All drugs were given orally under direct observation.

After the three-drug regimen, 96% of p…

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

Triple-Drug Therapy Superior to Two Drugs for Treating Lymphatic Filariasis

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Reviewing Author