Worm infestations

The control of worm infestations of domestic animals (horse, sheep, cattle, pigs) and humans is an important therapeutic objective for which thiabendazole (60) serves as the prototype of numerous benzimidazole... 

Mebendazole is a broad spectrum anthelmintic and of special use for mixed worm infestations. Its mechanism of action is based on inhibition of microtubule synthesis and decreased transport of vesicles and organelles thus irreversibly blocking glucose uptake. 

Anaemia due to blood loss e.g. in severe gastric blood loss (ulcers), protozoal or worm infestation. 

It is a broad spectrum anthelmintic effective in pinworm, ascariasis and hook worm infestation. It exerts its action by producing persistent nicotinic receptor activation which results in spastic paralysis of worms. 

This group of compounds has played an important role in the control of worm infestations of cattle, sheep and horses, with particular activity against the larval stages of worms. Prior to their introduction there was no effective treatment of larval stages of worms. The benzimidazoles are also active against tapeworms and fluke. The main compounds in use are thiabendazole, cambendazole, fenbendazole, oxfendazole, mebendazole and albendazole. The mode of action of these compounds is through their effect on the uptake of nutrients by the helminth, which results in a reduction in glycogen and subsequent starvation. 

A 43-year-old man treated himself with a levamisole enema of 10 g (33 times the therapeutic dose) for a gastrointestinal worm infestation. Soon after he developed malaise, tachycardia, nausea, vertigo, and profuse diarrhea. He lost consciousness and developed generalized seizures and a respiratory arrest. He was intubated, ventilated, and treated with clonazepam. His condition improved after 4 hours. He remained somnolent for 6 hours, and was nauseated and vomited for 24 hours. There was hypokalemia after the diarrhea, raised creatine kinase activity, and a leukocytosis. An electrocardiogram showed ST depression. By the fourth day all his symptoms had subsided. 

A previously well 23-month-old girl was given piperazine 65 mg/kg/day for 7 days for a suspected worm infestation and developed cerebellar ataxia after 8 days (7). Over the next 48 hours her symptoms gradually settled. She made a complete recovery 5 days later. 

Fruit infested with slender white grubs. Cause Raspberry fruitworms. These A" larvae feed in ripening fruit and may cause berries to drop prematurely. Adults are V32", brown beetles that feed on flowers and leaves before laying eggs on fruit. Collect and destroy worm-infested fruit to prevent larvae from dropping to the ground and overwintering. Spray plants with pyrethrin as blossom buds appear,... 

Indications Parasitic worm infestations Category Antibiotic, imidazole Antihelmintic Half-life 1-12 hours... 

Although a number of anthelmintics discussed in this chapter have been demonstrated to be highly effective against different worm infestations in humans and domestic animals, the majority of them are now of historical significance as they have been replaced by more effective and safer drugs. 

It is difficult to title correctly a discussion that attempts to deal with the broad area of drugs utilized to treat all the types of infections that parasitize humanity. Antiparasitic might be technically more correct because it would include all organisms from the microscopic in size to the 75-foot tapeworm, but the term parasite has acquired a much narrower meaning as commonly used. The title antimicrobial was selected even though drugs controlling helminthic (worm) infestations will be considered. Similarly, antiviral compounds will also be discussed, even if viruses are not microbes as commonly viewed. 

Maytenus putterllc- kioides (Loes.)Exell. Mendofa Muthunthi = Shomalisi = Mtulavuha leaves hot water/oral hook worm infestations 36... 

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Occupational lung diseases Gastroenteritis Worm infestation Dyspepsia / ulcer Enteric fever Acute viral hepatitis Chronic liver diseases Skin infections Scabies Eczemas... 

Non-nutritional causes of anaemia such as malaria, worm infestation, infection, chronic diseases and genetic disorders may also be important in some populations. 

The root bark was already recommended in the Ebers Pap3Tus and later in more Pharmacopoeias (e.g., pelletierine tannate in BP 1948) to treat worm infestations and was used as an anthelmintic, primarily against tapeworm, until the first half of the twentieth century. The greatest anthelmintic activity of Punica extracts was chiefly due to isopelletierine [8]. Our daily harmful effects due to the fraction absorbed in the intestine have led to full abandonment of the drug and also its alkaloids [7]. 

Roundworms, conunon in the tropics, with about 650 million sufferers, have an interesting life cycle shared between intestine and lungs. They are easily killed by anthelmintic drugs, and so are the universally-occurring tapeworms and threadworms. T wo worm infestations of temperate climates that are difficult to treat are trichinellosis, which starts in undercooked pork and ends up in the sufferer s muscles, and hydatid disease, which often follows the course sheep - dog - man promising drugs are available. 

Carbon tetrachloride was introduced by M. C. Hall in 1921 for ridding man of the intestinal parasite, hookworm. Already by 1925, this drug s necrotic action on human liver and kidneys gave concern, and Hall endeavoured to have it replaced. Carbon tetrachloride is still used for worm infestations of cattle, sheep, and poultry, but more cautiously than before. Human beings are still being poisoned by this substance, which is widely used both as a solvent and a fire extinguisher. 

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