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Two scientists of Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, have developed a new antibiotic by mouth has been shown to effectively eradicate pian , a tropical disease, similar to syphilis, which affects the skin and bones of children from Asia, South America and Africa.
The journal “The Lancet” published today the results of clinical of this new antimicrobial treatment consists of a single dose of azithromycin, an antibiotic and is used to remove other infections as blindness caused by trachoma, according to the Center for International Health Research of Barcelona (CRESIB).
The clinical trial with 250 children between six months and 15 years of age has been conducted in Papua New Guinea under the leadership of Mitjà Oriol, infectious disease specialist, and Quique Bassat, a pediatrician specializing in tropical medicine, both researchers at the CRESIB center linked to the Clinic.
The discovery is a decisive step towards the eradication of this infectious disease, as it would replace the penicillin injection treatment is practiced give the 50 to something more easy to administer to the population.
For Mitjà Oriol, is an oral therapy “which extends the therapeutic arsenal against yaws and that is promising for its ease of administration.”
With this new oral treatment would avoid the obstacles of conventional injections, such as the need for equipment and medical personnel, potential allergies and side effects.
In addition, this new therapeutic alternative “could be easily integrated into mass medication campaigns,” explains the researcher Quique Bassat.
Following the results of the study, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the convening of a technical meeting to examine whether this new treatment is adopted officially, according to the CRESIB in a statement.
Yaws is an infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which is closely related to that cause syphilis, although the disease is not transmitted sexually.
It mainly affects children living in rural areas with overcrowding and lack of sanitary measures of the Caribbean islands, Latin America, West Africa, India and Southeast Asia.
The international organization counted in 2005 26 thousand cases in Ghana and 18 000 in Papua New Guinea.
Read the original article: CRESIB
Read original study (in English): The Lancet
msh / vrs
It affects the skin and bones of children and in the long term, can cause severe bone deformities.
According to WHO, every year we reported about 5 thousand new cases in Southeast Asia, mainly in Indonesia and East Timor.
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