01607nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653001000054653002800064653002800092653002000120100001300140700001200153700001600165700001400181245009400195856015300289300001200442490000700454520090200461022001401363       2024                            d  c08/202410aarPZQ10aimplementation research10apaediatric praziquantel10aschistosomiasis1 aMutapi F1 aGarba A1 aWoolhouse M1 aKazyoba P00aPaediatric schistosomiasis: last mile preparations for deploying paediatric praziquantel.  uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471492224001697/pdfft?md5=801d525b669d6dc7bf51cd02f18d8708&pid=1-s2.0-S1471492224001697-main.pdf  a687-6950 v403 a<p>Schistosomiasis is the second most important parasitic disease of public health importance in Africa, affecting over 50 million children aged <5 years old. Schistosomiasis control has focused on treating school-aged children (>6 years) and adults through mass drug administration (MDA). Following the recent development of a paediatric praziquantel (PZQ) formulation for children aged <5 years, there are now concerted efforts to determine optimal and effective ways to integrate treatment of these children into national schistosomiasis control programmes. In this opinion article we outline the pathway for successful drug access, delivery, and mainstreaming of the new formulation in endemic country health systems. Effective and sustained paediatric schistosomiasis treatment is an important target of the 2030 World Health Organization (WHO) neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) roadmap.</p>  a1471-5007