Targeted anthelminthic treatment of school children: effect of frequency of application on the intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides infection in children from rural Nigerian villages

Abstract

A study to compare the effects of different frequencies of targeted chemotherapy with levamisole (Ketrax: JAGAL Pharma, Lagos, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals UK) as an action for the control of Ascaris lumbricoides was carried out in 3 communities in rural Oyo State, Nigeria. The targeted group comprised children, age 5 to 15 years, attending primary school within their village. Treatment was provided within the school with the assistance of the school teachers. Three frequencies of targeted treatment were offered. In one village targeted treatment was provided on 1 occasion in 1 year, in another village at two 6-monthly intervals and in the third village every 4 months. Prevalence and intensity (e.p.g.) of A. lumbricoides infection were determined immediately before and after the period of intervention using a modified Kato-Katz technique. In the villages which received treatment once and at 6-monthly intervals, a reduction in post-treatment intensity of A. lumbricoides was observed in the total population but this failed to attain statistical significance. In contrast, within the village which received 4-monthly targeted chemotherapy, a significant reduction in post-treatment intensity of A. lumbricoides was observed in the total population and in the targeted children. In general, reductions in the intensity of A lumbricoides after intervention were not particularly pronounced in untreated children (aged 0-4 years) even in the 4-monthly targeted village, whereas in untreated adults, reductions approached statistical significance in villages which received targeted treatment once and at 4-monthly intervals.

Patterns of soil-transmitted helminth infection and impact of four-monthly albendazole treatments in preschool children from semi-urban communities in Nigeria: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial

“…Holland and colleagues [39] proved that four-monthly anthelminthic treatments with levamisole were better than six-monthly or one-yearly treatments in reducing prevalence and intensity of A. lumbricoides infection in children aged 5–15 years. In the present study, the drop in prevalence (33%) of Ascaris between baseline and 14 months was lower than the result demonstrated by Holland et al [39] for four-monthly treatments where there was a 54% drop in prevalence by the end of the 13 month study period.…”

Albendazole Treatment of Children with Ascariasis Enhances the Vibriocidal Antibody Response to the Live Attenuated Oral Cholera Vaccine CVD 103‐HgR

“…Furthermore, 2 doses of albendazole administered to children with moderate-to-high levels of infection with A. lumbricoides and living in conditions of considerable poverty in rural Ecuador, as investigated in this study, were not sufficient to reverse this deficit, although a considerable improvement was seen. Possibly, more anthelmintic treatments over a longer period of time (e.g., treatments every 4 months for 1 year, as advocated in some geohelminth control programs [48]) may be necessary to allow for the integrity and function of the intestine to recover sufficiently to allow an optimal vaccine response.…”

Prevalence and intensity of infections of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura and associated socio-demographic variables in four rural Honduran communities

“…Community-based mass chemotherapy on a regular basis can meet shortterm objectives of intestinal helminth reduction, and is the most cost-effective method (Mascle-Taylor et al 1999). Health promotion education, the adoption of hygienic practices, and school-based deworming programs can have long-term benefits and have proven effective in other countries (Holland et al 1996, Stolzfus et al 1997, Mascle-Taylor et al 1999.…”