Rapid re-infection with soil-transmitted helminths after triple-dose albendazole treatment of school-aged children in Yunnan, People's Republic of China

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013 Jul;89(1):23-31. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0009. Epub 2013 May 20.

Abstract

Post-treatment soil-transmitted helminth re-infection patterns were studied as part of a randomized controlled trial among school-aged children from an ethnic minority group in Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. Children with a soil-transmitted helminth infection (N = 194) were randomly assigned to triple-dose albendazole or placebo and their infection status monitored over a 6-month period using the Kato-Katz and Baermann techniques. Baseline prevalence of Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, and Strongyloides stercoralis were 94.5%, 93.3%, 61.3%, and 3.1%, respectively, with more than half of the participants harboring triple-species infections. For the intervention group (N = 99), the 1-month post-treatment cure rates were 96.7%, 91.5%, and 19.6% for hookworm, A. lumbricoides, and T. trichiura, respectively. Egg reduction rates were above 88% for all three species. Rapid re-infection with A. lumbricoides was observed: the prevalence 4 and 6 months post-treatment was 75.8% and 83.8%, respectively. Re-infection with hookworm and T. trichiura was considerably slower.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Albendazole / administration & dosage
  • Albendazole / therapeutic use*
  • Ancylostomatoidea
  • Animals
  • Anthelmintics / administration & dosage
  • Anthelmintics / therapeutic use*
  • Ascariasis / drug therapy
  • Ascariasis / epidemiology
  • Ascaris lumbricoides
  • Child
  • China / epidemiology
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Feces / parasitology
  • Female
  • Helminthiasis / drug therapy*
  • Helminthiasis / epidemiology
  • Hookworm Infections / drug therapy
  • Hookworm Infections / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Parasite Egg Count
  • Prevalence
  • Soil / parasitology
  • Strongyloides stercoralis
  • Strongyloidiasis / drug therapy
  • Strongyloidiasis / epidemiology
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Trichuriasis / drug therapy
  • Trichuriasis / epidemiology
  • Trichuris

Substances

  • Anthelmintics
  • Soil
  • Albendazole

Associated data

  • ISRCTN/ISRCTN25371788