Conditions for Drug Testing in Experimental Schistosomiasis Mansoni in Mice

Abstract

Some studies of limited scope have been published on the experimental chemotherapy of schistosomiasis. Faust and Meleney (1) in 1924 reported the cure with tartar emetic of two dogs infected with Schistosoma japonicum. Fairley (2) experimentally infected goats with S. spindalis and showed that they could be cured by repeated injections of tartar emetic. Kawamura (3) in 1929 and Ozawa (4) in 1930 described good results using stibonal on a variety of animals experimentally infected with S. japonicum. It is impossible to judge the value of this work as no details are given in the English references available. Eichholtz (5) in 1930 and Szidat and Wigand (6) in 1931 reported attempts to cure ducks of natural infections of Bilharziella polonica by injections of fuadin and of emetine. They concluded that these drugs had no therapeutic effect and that, therefore, such ducks were of no value as test animals for human schistosomes.