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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2009;302(7):732.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A newly launched phase 3 clinical trial will investigate whether moxidectin, a drug currently used to treat parasites in animals, can speed the elimination of onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading causes of blindness across Africa (http://apps.who.int/tdr/news-events/news/pdf/moxidectin-press-release.pdf). The Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, which is administered by the World Health Organization, will conduct the trial with African investigators and institutions and enroll 1500 individuals at 4 sites in Ghana, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The disease is caused by a nematode worm, Onchocerca volvulus, which is transmitted by the bite of blackflies. The trial will compare the effectiveness of moxidectin vs the drug currently used to control the disease, ivermectin.

A drug used in veterinary medicine is under study to see if it is more effective than standard therapy in eliminating the parasitic worm that . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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