The efficacy of umf 078 on Acanthocheilonema viteaeand Litomosoides sigmodontisin Meriones unguiculatus

UMF 078, a new benzimidazole analogue of Flubendazole, was tested on jirds infected with the filarial parasites Acanlhocheilonema viteaeand Lilomosoides sigmodontisrespectively. A total of 19 jirds, eight subcutaneously inoculated with infective larvae of A. viteae and eleven with L. sigmodontisinfective larvae, were used in this study. UMF 078 had both microfilaricidal and macrofilaricidal activities against both :«irasites. Blood microfilariae were completely eliminated in the two treated groups by day 56 post-treatment. Very few adult worms were recovered, and in both groups all the worms recovered were abnormal. In L. sigmodontishowever, microfilariae were detected in various organs/fluids (peritoneal fluid, pleural cavity fluid, lungs) on autopsy of the jirds.