ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2021
Quality and composition of Albendazole, Mebendazole and Praziquantel available in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Tanzania.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Substandard and falsified antimicrobials in selected east African countries: A systematic review.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Quality evaluation of cephalexin, cefuroxime, and ceftriaxone medicines marketed in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia with three tier level approach and anti-microbial assays.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- Effect of tropical climates on the quality of commonly used antibiotics: the protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Quality of veterinary anthelmintic drugs marketed in Gondar Zones, North West Ethiopia; presence of poor-quality medicines.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice towards Prevention of Intestinal Helminth Infection among Residents of the Ho Municipality in the Volta Region of Ghana.Journal of parasitology research · 2023Article
- Surveillance for substandard and falsified medicines by local faith-based organizations in 13 low- and middle-income countries using the GPHF Minilab.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Investigation of the Quality of the 12 Most-Used Antibiotics Available in Retail Private Pharmacies in Rwanda.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Emerging Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Africa and Latin America: Search for Reasons.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEven though the international combat against Neglected Tropical Diseases such as schistosomiasis or soil-transmitted helminthiases depends on reliable therapeutics, anthelminthic pharmacovigilance has been neglected on many national African drug markets. Therefore, quality and composition of Albendazole, Mebendazole and Praziquantel locally collected in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Tanzania were analysed.
methodsSamples of 88 different batches were obtained from randomly selected facilities. Sampling took place in Northwest Tanzania, Western Burkina Faso, Southeast Côte d'Ivoire and Southwest Ghana. Visual examination of both packaging and samples was performed according to the WHO 'Be Aware' tool. Products were then screened with the GPHF Minilab, consisting of tests of mass uniformity, disintegration times and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Confirmatory tests were performed according to international pharmacopoeiae, applying assays for dissolution profiles and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
findingsDespite minor irregularities, appearance of the products did not hint at falsified medicines. However, 19.6% of the brands collected in Ghana and Tanzania were not officially licensed for sale. Mass uniformity was confirmed in 53 out of 58 brands of tablets. 41 out of 56 products passed disintegration times; 10 out of the 15 failing products did not disintegrate at all. Evaluating TLC results, only 4 out of 83 batches narrowly missed specification limits, 18 batches slightly exceeded them. Not more than 46.3% (31 / 67) of the tablets assayed passed the respective pharmaceutical criteria for dissolution. HPLC findings confirmed TLC results despite shifted specification limits: 10 out of 83 tested batches contained less than 90%, none exceeded 110%.
conclusionIn the four study countries, no falsified anthelminthic medicine was encountered. The active pharmaceutical ingredient was not found to either exceed or fall below specification limits. Galenic characteristics however, especially dissolution profiles, revealed great deficits.
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