Researchers identified a new class of drugs more effective at killing human whipworm than currently available treatments, according to research recent published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease.
Whipworm — Trichuris trichiura — is a parasite that infects approximately 500 million people worldwide. The parasite can damage the physical and mental growth in an infected child. Current treatments for whipworm use drugs developed in the 1960s for livestock and have a low success rate in people.
Sign up for our FREE E-Weekly for more coverage like this sent to your inbox
For the study, researchers screened 480 novel drug-like small molecules for potential efficacy in fighting whipworm. The drug class dihydrobenzoxazepinones — not been previously associated with hindering the parasite — was found to kill whipworm in its adult stages much more effectively than existing drugs
"Eradicating the whipworm requires more effective drugs, improving hygiene and vaccine development," said Kathryn Else, PhD, study author and professor of immunology from The University of Manchester in England. "The compounds we have discovered could address the first two of these."
More articles on infection control:
Asthma drugs could prove effective for influenza pneumonia prevention
The bearded physician: 3 things to know about the 100+ year infection control controversy
30-day readmissions common for heart failure patients, study finds