Shahid Akhter, editor, ETHealthworld spoke to Gary J Weil, MD, professor of medicine and molecular microbiology, to learn more about latest drug regimen (IDA) in the prevention and treatment of lymphatic filariasis.
The new WHO guidelines recommend a three-drug treatment regimen rather than the standard two-drug combination. The guidelines are based on studies in Asia and Africa led by Gary Weil, MD, a Washington University infectious disease specialist, and his international colleagues. Their results have demonstrated that adding ivermectin to the standard combination of diethylcarbamazine and albendazole is more effective than the two-drug regimen and just as safe.
This research is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Washington University has played a key role in WHO’s Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, which started in 2000 and provides treatment to about 500 million people annually. Weil’s earlier research led to an improved diagnostic test for the infection that is part of the global program.
View the interview.