[Urinary schistosomiasis. 1st trial of mass treatment in the field (Niger)]

In a village of 841 inhabitants, we were able to examine 553 subjects, 357 of whom had urinary egg excretion. The patients were treated with a single dose of 35 mg/kg oltipraz which was given under surveillance together with either whole milk or herrings in oil. The tolerance of the product was very good as only 3% of the patients reported vomiting and 3% paresthesias of the fingers. 66% of the patients examined on day 30 and/or on day 90 were egg-negative and egg excretion was reduced by at least 90% in 22 other subjects, bringing the percentage of good results to 74%. On day 90, the mean egg excretion was reduced by 82.5% in the overall population and by 80.9% in the 5 to 14 year-olds.