Introduction: Onchocerciasis is a parasitic epidemic in sub Saharan Africa, and the use of ivermectin has greatly curbed its spread.
Moxidectin (MXD) is a semi synthetic, single component macrolide antibiotic produced by Streptomyces (s. Cyaneogrisens noncyanogenus) fermentation, and is a derivative of Neimaricin. Compared to ivermectin (IVM) and avermectin, MXD has wider insecticidal activity, long-term efficacy, and safety characteristics. In the mid-1980s, moxisin began to be used as a veterinary insect repellent. As a new generation of insecticides, MXD can efficiently kill nematodes and surface parasites, while also having good safety for animals. It is superior to IVM in terms of drug dosage, formulation development, drug resistance, and in vivo drug distribution. It is currently a broad-spectrum, efficient, and novel macrolide insecticidal antibiotic widely used in veterinary clinical practice.
Recently, researchers compared the efficacy and safety differences between moxetine and ivermectin in the treatment of this parasitic disease.
The research was conducted in Ghana, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Patients aged 12 and above, with at least 10 filarial worms per milligram of skin, who were not infected with Roxheia or lymphatic filarial worms, participated in the study. Patients are randomized to receive 8mg of mosantin or 150 μ G/kg Ivermectin. The main endpoint of the study was the change in skin microfilaria density after 12 months.
978 people received mosantin, 494 people received ivermectin, and 947 and 480 people completed the primary endpoint analysis, respectively. After 12 months of treatment, the average skin microfilaria density of patients in the Mosantin group was lower than that in the Ivermectin group (difference of 3.9, treatment difference of 86%). 99% of patients in the Mosantin group and 97% in the Ivermectin group experienced Mazotti reactions related to efficacy, including eye reactions (12% vs 10%), laboratory reactions (81% vs 84%), and clinical reactions (97% vs 90%). No serious adverse events related to treatment occurred.
Research suggests that mosquitin is more effective in improving skin symptoms in patients with onchocerciasis compared to the ivermectin group, and mosquitin can more effectively reduce the spread of parasitic infections between treatment groups, thereby accelerating the process of parasite eradication.