The University Hospital

In many regions of sub-Saharan Africa, pregnant women are infected with multiple parasites at the same time. These infections cause anaemia, increasing the risk of complications, preterm births, and low birth weight. Although the WHO recommends preventive treatment for each of these infections during pregnancy, the medications are rarely administered. The reason is a lack of data on the safety of combined use and potential drug interactions.

All three medications – praziquantel against schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia), albendazole or mebendazole against intestinal worms, and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine against malaria – have long been approved and are successfully used during pregnancy. However, their simultaneous administration has never been systematically studied. Once reliable safety data are available for mothers and children, combined treatment could make maternal healthcare more efficient.

This is where “TreatPreg” comes in. The study team will conduct a large-scale clinical trial in Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Benin to evaluate whether combined treatment is safe and what health benefits it may have for mothers and their children.

“We aim to show that the joint administration of these medications is not only safe but also improves the health of pregnant women and their babies in the long term,” says project leader Priv.-Doz. Dr. Andrea Kreidenweiss from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Tübingen. “At the same time, we are exploring potential barriers to implementation within health systems so that our findings can directly inform practice and future health guidelines.”

An international consortium

In addition to the leadership of the Institute of Tropical Medicine at University Hospital Tübingen, Germany, partners include the Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (Gabon), Fondation Pour La Recherche Scientifique (Benin), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (Ghana), and the Fondation Congolaise Pour La Recherche Médicale (Republic of Congo), as well as European institutions such as the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (Hamburg/Germany) and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health/Spain. The team will also investigate potential pharmacokinetic drug interactions and assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention – important prerequisites for later implementation into national health programmes.

About “TreatPreg”

“TreatPreg” is funded under the European Union’s Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking (JU) programme with a duration of 60 months (www.treatpreg.eu). The project brings together expertise in tropical medicine, clinical research, pharmacology, obstetrics, health systems research, and science communication. Its goal is to enable a healthier future for pregnant women and their children – through scientific evidence and concrete improvements in healthcare delivery on the ground.