Merck, WHO collaborate on new schistosomiasis drug for school children

A girl holding pills. [Courtesy/GettyImages]

Akinyi* (not her real name), a 12-year-old girl from Nyalenda, Kisumu County, had been experiencing recurring abdominal pain and diarrhoea for several months. Her parents, subsistence fishers, had taken her to a local health centre, where she was treated for intestinal worms. However, her symptoms persisted.

A team of healthcare workers from a nearby clinic visited them as part of a schistosomiasis (commonly known as bilharzia) screening programme. “They did tests on our daughter and told us that she was infected with a parasite that led to those symptoms like diarrhoea,” said John Oluoch, Akinyi’s father.

Akinyi received praziquantel, the standard treatment for schistosomiasis, and was advised to return to the clinic for follow-up care. The healthcare workers also educated her and her family about the importance of hygiene practices, such as washing hands regularly and avoiding contaminated water sources.

According to Wyckliff Omondi, who is the Head of Vector-Borne and Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Ministry of Health, areas like Nyalenda, an informal settlement in Kisumu City, have a particularly high prevalence of intestinal schistosomiasis (Schistosoma mansoni).

“Some areas have historical prevalence rates of as high as 36%. The proximity to Lake Victoria and inadequate sanitation contribute to ongoing transmission,” he says.

Beyond Nyalenda, Kenya is grappling with schistosomiasis, a disease affecting approximately 9 million people, with around 17.4 million more at risk, according to data from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This parasitic disease thrives in tropical and sub-tropical areas, particularly in poor communities lacking access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

In a bid to curb this, the Ministry of Health is working with Merck—a leading science and technology company—together with the World Health Organization to control and eliminate schistosomiasis through various measures. These include periodic targeted treatment with praziquantel, improving access to safe water and sanitation, hygiene education, snail control, and school-based deworming programmes.

“The most recent initiative is the development of a new schistosomiasis drug, arpraziquantel, a new formulation tailored for pre-school-aged children. The drug is now in its early rollout phase through implementation research studies for adoption,” said Hong Chow, the Executive Vice President of Merck Healthcare.

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With the recent wave of dwindling funding by Western countries for projects in Africa, Chow and other experts emphasised the need for local manufacturing of drugs and other healthcare essentials for Kenya and other African countries to be independent.

“We have involved a Kenyan manufacturer, Universal Corporation, in a bid to prepare for future local large-scale production of essential medicines to combat these devastating diseases,” Chow added.

According to experts, there are two main types of schistosomiasis prevalent in Kenya. Intestinal schistosomiasis, caused by S. mansoni, leads to symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and blood in stool. Urogenital schistosomiasis, caused by S. haematobium, causes bloody urine, bladder fibrosis, and damage to the ureter and kidneys.

Globally, schistosomiasis claims 11,792 lives annually. In 2021, 75.3 million people worldwide received treatment for the disease, yet only 29.9% of those requiring treatment were reached.

According to the World Health Organization, the impact of schistosomiasis is far-reaching, affecting not only the health of individuals but also agricultural productivity and educational outcomes. It can lead to significant morbidity, impacting education, work capacity, and overall quality of life.