GSK extends its agreement with the World Health Organization for the Elimination of parasites affecting endemic countries in school age children.

-Donations are not limited to Africa, but it will also include endemic countries in Asia Pacific and Latin America

London, September 2011- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has taken one further step in its commitment to extending the donation of albendazole ® to the World Health Organization (who), for the treatment of school children at risk of intestinal worms, a disease known as helminthiasis ” (STH, for its acronym in English). The agreement formalizes the commitment that ahead of GSK, in October 2010, facilitate 400 million tablets of albendazole ® over a year who, for deworming of school-age African children. The agreement also includes other endemic countries outside Africa, albendazole ® donations to ensure that it will have the greatest possible effect.

Togo and Rwanda have received the first shipments of albendazole ® treatments. He is expected in the next twelve months to start programmes in Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda and Burkina Faso. To comply with its commitment, GSK has invested in its factory in South Africa, increasing the production capacity of albendazole ®.

Intestinal worms are the main cause of disease burden among schoolchildren in developing countries and often lead to delays in growth, anemia, malnutrition and poor performance (1). WHO try annually to children living in endemic areas with single dose albendazole (2) as desparasitadores drugs. Deworming causes considerable beneficial effects on health and child development, as well as improve attendance at classes, academic achievement and productivity (3,4). You can also reduce the excessive burden already facing health systems.

Andrew Witty, GSK CEO, explains that GSK is committed to contribute to the management of diseases that affect the countries of the world poorest, investing in the development of new drugs and vaccines, and taking steps to increase access to current treatments. Thanks to the formalization of this important agreement, we will contribute to ensuring one sufficient volume of desparasitadores drugs available to meet the needs around the world. Give a capsule a year every child is a measure of simple but effective, able to improve their health and development, and as a result, their academic performance, hoping to break the cycle of poverty in these countries ”.

For its part, the DRA. Margaret Chan, Director-general of who, acknowledges that who celebrated this donation, which will help facilitate increased health coverage to millions of children worldwide who suffer in silence the prolonged effects of intestinal worms ”.

GSK and who are working long time in the fight against neglected tropical diseases. In 1998, was formalized collaboration to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis. This donation of 400 million tablets of albendazole ® a year for treatment of intestinal worms, joins the continued commitment of GSK who deliver 360 million tablets of albendazole ® per year, for use in the Global Programme for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF)(, more commonly known as elephantiasis ”), an desfigurativa disease that causes debilitating damage to the lymphatic system, kidneys, arms, legs and genitals. Thus, the total donation of GSK to who reaches 1 billion tablets of albendazole ® year.

Notes:

-Intestinal worms affect 800 million children worldwide (5).

-the biggest impact of the intestinal worms lies with the children. Among children aged 5-14 of low-income countries, the intestinal worms represent the 11 or 12% of the total burden of disease in this strip of age, the biggest single factor of disease (1).

-worms cause malnutrition, slowdown in growth and development. The anemia associated with hookworm in women of childbearing age contributes significantly to a weight reduced by birth and infant mortality (6) excess.

-school enrolment of girls increases with de-worming programmes, which improve drop-out and retention rates. Infection of worms cause a loss of approximately 200 million years of schooling in primary education (1).

– there are three large species of intestinal worms: the round worm (ascaris lumbricoides), strip (trichuris trichiura) and hookworm (necator americanus and duodenal hookworm).

-neglected tropical diseases (NTDS) are a group of infections chronic descapacitantes that affect populations of the world’s poorest. They are an indicator of poverty and disadvantage, and are among the most common infections of the 2.7 billion people, it is estimated, living with less than two dollars a day (7).

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world research-based, and is committed to improving the quality of human life, allowing people to do more, feel better and live longer.

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Referencia:

(1) Thinking beyond deworming. The Lancet 2004, Vol 364, 9450: 1993 – 1994.

(2) Preventive chemotherapy in human helminthiasis: use coordinated antihelminthics drugs in control interventions: a handbook for health professionals and programme managers. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2006.

(3) First report of the who on neglected tropical diseases 2010: working to overcome the global impact of neglected tropical diseases.

(4) Miguel and Kremer M, (2004) Worms: Identifying impacts on health and education in the presence of treatment externalities. Econometrica, Vol 72, 1: 159-217.

(5) WHO. Soil-transmitted helminthiasis: estimates of the number of children needing preventive chemotherapy and number treated, 2009. Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) 2011; NO. 25, 2001, 86: 257-268.

(6) Report of the third international meeting of partners in the pest control program de-worming for health and development ”. Geneva, 29 – 30 noviembre2004. World Health.

(7) Hotez PJ, et al., Control of neglected tropical diseases, N Engl J Med 2007, 357: 1018-27.