Single-dose metrifonate for the treatment of Schistosoma haematobium infection in an endemic area of Zimbabwe.

The excretion of Schistosoma haematobium eggs by school children in an endemic area of Zimbabwe was studied for 16 weeks following a single oral dose of 10 mg/kg body weight metrifonate. By 16 weeks, 40.7% of the children had ceased excreting eggs. The mean reduction in egg excretion was 75.1%, but over half the children showed a greater than 90% reduction. Of the treatment failures, the majority showed less marked or transient reductions in egg excretion, though evidence suggested that 17.5% of the failures may have been due to reinfection.