Pyrantel is a medication used to treat a number of parasitic worm infections. This includes ascariasis, hookworm infections, enterobiasis (pinworm infection), trichostrongyliasis, and trichinellosis. It is taken by mouth.Side effects include nausea, headache, dizziness, trouble sleeping, and rash. A lower dose should be used in people with liver disease. While it does not appear to be harmful during pregnancy, it has not been studied for this use. It is unclear if it is safe for use during breastfeeding. It is in the antihelmintic family of medications. It works by paralyzing worms.Pyrantel was initially described in 1965. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. Pyrantel is available as a generic medication. It costs less than US$25 per course of treatment in the United States. It may also be used to treat worms in a number of other animals. Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Pyrantel pamoate is considered a pregnancy category C drug for use during pregnancy for humans, but is in category A for canines and felines. Pyrantel is considered safe to use in nursing animals. Mechanism of action
Pyrantel pamoate acts as a depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent, thereby causing sudden contraction, followed by paralysis, of the helminths. This has the result of causing the worm to "lose its grip" on the intestinal wall and be passed out of the system by natural process. Since Pyrantel is poorly absorbed by the hosts intestine, the host is unaffected by the small dosage of medication used.
It has been stated that lumbar puncture always should be performed when diagnosing TBE and that pleocytosis in cerebrospinal fluid should be added to the diagnostic criteria.PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method is rarely used, since TBE virus RNA is most often not present in patient sera or cerebrospinal fluid at the time of neurological symptoms. Prevention
Prevention includes non-specific (tick-bite prevention, tick checks) and specific prophylaxis in the form of a vaccination. Tick-borne encephalitis vaccines are very effective and available in many disease endemic areas and in travel clinics. Trade names are Encepur N and FSME-Immun CC. Treatment
There is no specific antiviral treatment for TBE. Symptomatic brain damage requires hospitalization and supportive care based on syndrome severity. Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as corticosteroids, may be considered under specific circumstances for symptomatic relief. Tracheal intubation and respiratory support may be necessary. Epidemiology
As of 2011, the disease was most common in Central and Eastern Europe, and Northern Asia. About ten to twelve thousand cases are documented a year but the rates vary widely from one region to another. Most of the variation has been the result of variation in host population, particularly that of deer. In Austria, an extensive vaccination program since the 1970s reduced the incidence in 2013 by roughly 85%.In Germany, during the 2010s, there have been a minimum of 95 (2012) and a maximum of 584 cases (2018) of TBE  (or FSME as it is known in German). More than half of the reported cases from 2019 had meningitis, encephalitis or myelitis.