For Hookworm

A New Drug

THE following article appeared in the Johannesburg Times re cently.

It is of interest to readers in the Islands where hookworm is still a problem, despite the success of the 'ate Dr. Lambert and the Rocke feller Foundation a generation ago.

In practically all parts of the vorld, with the possible exception >f the Arctic regions, man and inimals have throughout the ages ►een the unwilling hosts to parasitic irorms. There is evidence from Egyptian papyri of the prevalence if the infestation in man as early s 1,500 BC.

Insanitary conditions and neglect f personal hygiene are the greatest actors in the persistence of infesta ion by the three parasites most ommonly found in man—thread worm, roundworm and hookworm, t would be expected, therefore, that i the more enlightened communi ies, infestation would be rare, yet espite modern sanitation and im roved facilities for ablutions, man as carried his unwanted guests ito the new world.

Threadworm is übiquitous in all immunities, but in modern civil ation the sufferer all too fre lently conceals his affliction for asons of delicacy and perhaps be iuse he is not unduly inconveni

enced beyond the slight sense of irritability and discomfort. So the hfe cycle of the parasite goes on undisturbed by any concerted at tack.

Conditions in the tropics, par ticularly amongst native commun ities, are vastly different, for the roundworm and hookworm are a living scourge which bring intense suffering and misery to thousands.

With such a long history and widespread incidence it is hardly surprising that superstitions sur rounding the infestations have been legion, and even more numerous are the potions, the concoctions and the witches’ brews which have been propounded for their treatment.

Until recently, in our own society, knowledge of the means of killing and eliminating worms has lagged behind our knowledge of the treat ment of many other ailments to which mankind is heir. During the twentieth century some significant advances in treatment of all types

of tne infestation have been made, the drug most potent in its effect on the worm has had * ,™ ar g m of safety for the host much too narrow for convenience in administration, with the result that a slight overdose has had conse quences more serious than had the conditions for which it was em ployed.

New hope for sufferers has emerged from a series of studies which have just been completed bv a group of British scientists working in the British Drug Houses research laboratories in London.

The lethal properties of a substance known as piperazine had been recognised, but like many earlier preparations, it lacked the necessary element of safety when administered to humans. Extensive research was instituted with the object of finding a way to produce piperazine without its toxic side effects. (Over)

Various derivatives were tried and finally one, piperazine adipate, proved to possess all the character istics for which the investigators were searching. It was effective not only against threadworms, the most common of all the infestations, but also against roundworm and hook worm. Not only was it effective, but it was found to be entirely free from dangerous side effects; it could safely be given to children and moreover its stability was such that it could be made into a tablet for convenient administration by mouth.

Supplies of the new drug in the form of what is known as Entacyl tablets, are already available.