New single-dose drug 95 per cent effective against sleeping sickness in adults: Lancet study

Geneva, Nov 30 (PTI) A new, single-dose oral treatment for sleeping sickness is 95 per cent effective in adults and adolescents, regardless of disease stage, and could be a key factor in eliminating disease transmission by 2030, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Developed by not-for-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Sanofi, acoziborole, unlike current treatments for sleeping sickness, does not require multiple days of treatment, hospitalisation or highly skilled health personnel, the researchers said.

Transmitted by the bite of an infected tsetse fly, sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), is a neglected tropical disease, which can be fatal if left untreated.