Once a person is infected, the parasites take root in the person’s digestive tract.
While the drug albendazole is good at treating some types of THG, it appears to be less effective at treating some others.
In clinical trials involving 1,001 children aged 5 to 18 in Ethiopia, Kenya and Mozambique, it was found to be more effective for more types of infections when combined with the drug ivermectin.
However, the researchers said the results are inconclusive about how well it treats the worm.
Professor Hani Elsheikha, a parasitology expert at the University of Nottingham, said the pills could be a “significant improvement over other treatments” and could be used against several parasites.
“There are some problems with existing drugs … so this could be an important, important addition.”
However, he said that while the study was “promising”, it had “some gaps”.
“We don’t know if the results will be the same for adults, older people, younger children, people in other parts of the world.”
Test results have been submitted to regulators in Europe and Africa, and decisions are expected in early 2025.
Participants are now being recruited for the next trial of over 20,000 people in Kenya and Ghana.
Dr. Stella Kefa, a research fellow at the Kenya Institute of Medical Research who worked on the study, said the pills had “great potential to improve the health of affected communities” but “work needed to be done” to make the treatment widely available.
