Drug Database: Albendazole

What is albendazole?

Albendazole is an anti-parasitic prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of two types of parasitic infections: neurocysticercosis and hydatid disease.

Albendazole is also used to treat a parasitic infection called microsporidiosis. Microsporidiosis can be an opportunistic infection (OI) of HIV. An OI is an infection that occurs more frequently or is more severe in people with weakened immune systems—such as people with HIV—than in people with healthy immune systems. To learn more about OIs, read the HIVinfo What is an Opportunistic Infection? fact sheet.

How is albendazole used in people with HIV?

The Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV and the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Children with and Exposed to HIV include recommendations on the uses of albendazole to:

• Treat microsporidiosis, including gastrointestinal and disseminated infection caused by certain types of microsporidia and ocular (eye) infection
• Prevent infection caused by microsporidia from recurring

The recommended uses may not always be consistent with FDA-approved uses of albendazole. See the Adult and Pediatric Opportunistic Infection Guidelines for complete information on recommended uses of albendazole in adults and children with HIV. Albendazole may have other recommended uses not listed above. 

What should I tell my health care provider before taking albendazole?

Before taking albendazole, tell your health care provider:

• If you are allergic to albendazole or any other medicines.
• About any medical conditions you have or have had, including:
  • Liver problems
  • Low blood cell counts
  • Bone marrow suppression
  • Problems with the retina of your eyes
• About anything that could affect your ability to take medicines, such as difficulty swallowing or remembering to take pills.
• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Albendazole should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. Talk to your health care provider about the risks and benefits of taking albendazole during pregnancy. The Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV may include other recommendations on the use of albendazole during pregnancy. Please refer to these guidelines for additional information.
• If you are breast/chestfeeding or plan to breast/chestfeed. For people with HIV in the United States, the Guideline recommends speaking with your health care provider to discuss options for feeding your baby. People with suppressed viral load have a less than 1% chance of transmitting HIV to their baby via their own milk.
• About other prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Albendazole may affect the way other medicines or products work, and other medicines or products may affect how albendazole works. Ask your health care provider if there are interactions between albendazole and the other medicines you take.

Ask your health care provider about possible side effects from albendazole. Your health care provider will tell you what to do if you have side effects.

How should I take albendazole?

Take albendazole according to your health care provider’s instructions. Your health care provider will tell you how much albendazole to take and when to take it. Before you start albendazole and each time you get a refill, read any printed information that comes with your medicine.

How should albendazole be stored?

• Store albendazole tablets at room temperature, 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C).
• Keep albendazole in the container that it came in and keep the container tightly closed.
• Do not use albendazole if the original seal over the container opening is broken or missing.
• Throw away albendazole that is no longer needed or expired (out of date). Follow FDA guidelines on how to safely dispose of unused medicine.
• Keep albendazole and all medicines out of reach of children.

Where can I find more information about albendazole?

• Recommendations on the HIV-related use of albendazole, from the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV and the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Children with and Exposed to HIV.
• This Patient Version drug summary is based on the following FDA label(s): Tablet (film coated). The Patient Counseling Information section of the label includes information for people taking albendazole.
• The American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Patient Medication Information for albendazole available from MedlinePlus.
• Albendazole-related research studies, from ClinicalTrials.gov. (The ClinicalTrials.gov search can be modified so that you can get results that better match your interests. To learn more about the ClinicalTrials.gov search features, please see How to Search.)