@article{b293e57c883d4c1eb18fbc110331167c,
title = "Pregnancy outcome after inadvertent ivermectin treatment during community-based distribution",
abstract = "Ivermectin is the drug of choice for community-based treatment of onchocerciasis. Since pregnancy testing during mass distribution campaigns is not feasible, the safety of ivermectin in pregnancy must be established. During a 3-year study, ivermectin was distributed to the population of a rubber plantation (14 000 people) in Liberia. Only 31% of women were aware of their pregnancy status during the first month; it was calculated that about half of women in the first trimester of pregnancy are likely to be treated inadvertently. 203 children born to women inadvertently treated during pregnancy were identified. In this limited sample, there was no significant difference in birth defects between treated and untreated mothers in the same population or compared with a reference population. Children of treated and untreated mothers showed no difference in developmental status or disease patterns. Further surveillance is necessary; however, since no major effects of ivermectin on pregnancy outcome were detected, there seems no need to change existing strategies of ivermectin distribution.",
author = "M. Pacqu{\'e} and B. Mu{\~n}oz and G. Poetscke and J. Foose and Taylor, {H. R.} and Greene, {B. M.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Dr P. N. Williams, Dr A. F. David, Mr Kenneth Gerhart, and the staff of the Liberian Agricultural Company; Dr Aloysius Hanson (Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research); Mr James Belcher and the staff of Keene Industries; Dr Albert White and Dr Wayne Giles (University of Alabama, Birmingham); Ms Crystal Gbadebeku (University of Virginia); and Ms Lynn Hutt, Ms Molly Cogswell, and Ms Kate Taylor (Johns Hopkins University) for support and assistance; and Dr R. H. Morrow, World Health Organisation, Geneva, for reviewing the paper. This study was supported by funds from the UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research REFERENCES 1. Aziz MA, Diallo S, Diop IM, Lariviere M. Efficacy and tolerance of ivermectin in human onchocerciasis. Lancet 1982; ii: 171-73. White AT, Newland HS, Taylor HR, et al. Controlled trial and dose finding study of ivermectin for treatment of onchocerciasis. J Infect Dis 1987; 156: 463-70. 3. Pacqué MC, Dukuly Z, Greene BM, et al. Community-based treatment of onchocerciasis with ivermectin: acceptability and early adverse reactions. Bull WHO 1989; 67: 721-30. 4. Pacqué MC, Munõz B, Greene BM, White AT, Dukuly Z, Taylor HR. Safety of and compliance with community-based ivermectin therapy. Lancet 1990; 335: 1377-80. 5. DeSole G, Remme J, Awadzi K, et al. Adverse reactions after large-scale treatment of onchocerciasis with ivermectin: combined results from eight community trials. Bull WHO 1989; 67: 707-19. 6. Guerrero R, Florer PE. The duration of pregnancy. Lancet 268-69. 7. Nelson K, Holmes LB. Malformations due to presumed spontaneous mutations in newborn infants. N Engl J Med 1989; 320: 19-23. 8. Demographic and Health Survey 1986, Liberia Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs, Liberia and Institute for Resource Development/Westinghouse, 1988. 9. Chavez GF, Cordero JF, Becarra JE. Leading major congenital malformations among minority groups in the United States, 1981- 1986. MMWR 1988; 37: 17-24. 10. Simpkiss M, Lowe A. Congenital abnormalities in the African newborn. Arch Dis Child 1961; 36: 404-06. 11. Taylor HR, Pacqué M, Muñoz B, Greene BM. Impact of mass treatment of onchocerciasis with ivermectin on the transmission of infection. Science 1990; 250: 116-18.",
year = "1990",
month = dec,
day = "15",
doi = "10.1016/0140-6736(90)93187-T",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "336",
pages = "1486--1489",
journal = "The Lancet",
issn = "0140-6736",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
number = "8729",
}