Successful Prevention and Treatment of Babesiosis with Atovaquone

Atovaquone was evaluated for the prevention and treatment of babesiosis in hamsters. When atovaquone was administered before inoculation of 106 Babesia microti and continued for 8 days thereafter, 9 of 10 hamsters survived beyond 54 days, but all untreated controls died within 12 days after inoculat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1995-10, Vol.172 (4), p.1042-1046
Main Authors: Hughes, Walter T., Oz, Helieh S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents
Antiparasitic agents
Antiprotozoal Agents - therapeutic use
Atovaquone
Babesia microti
Babesiosis
Babesiosis - drug therapy
Babesiosis - prevention & control
Biological and medical sciences
Chemoprevention
Cricetinae
Dexamethasone - pharmacology
Dosage
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Glucocorticoids - pharmacology
Hamsters
Humans
Immunosuppressants
Immunosuppression
Infections
Inoculation
Major Articles
Male
Medical sciences
Medical treatment
Naphthoquinones - therapeutic use
Parasitemia
Parasitemia - drug therapy
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Survival Analysis
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Summary:Atovaquone was evaluated for the prevention and treatment of babesiosis in hamsters. When atovaquone was administered before inoculation of 106 Babesia microti and continued for 8 days thereafter, 9 of 10 hamsters survived beyond 54 days, but all untreated controls died within 12 days after inoculation. Quantitation of parasitemia showed a mean of 75% erythrocytes parasitized by day 5 in controls, but atovaquone recipients never exceeded 0.7% of parasitized erythrocytes over 54 days of observation. Clindamycin plus quinine was also effective but less so than atovaquone. When treatment was not started until parasitemia became established, atovaquone in doses of 300, 150, and 80 mglkglday was effective in the recovery of all animals compared with 50% of those receiving 10mg/kg/day and 10% of untreated controls. With its remarkable safety record, atovaquone offers promise for clinical trials in babesiosis of both humans and lower animals.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/172.4.1042