Korean J Parasitol.  2020 Apr;58(2):195-200. 10.3347/kjp.2020.58.2.195.

Effect of Mass Drug Administration with a Single Dose of Albendazole on Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura Infection among Schoolchildren in Yangon Region, Myanmar

Affiliations
  • 1Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Korea Association of Health Promotion, Seoul 07649, Korea
  • 2Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
  • 3Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, and Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju 52727, Korea
  • 4Department of Environmental Medical Biology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul 06974, Korea; 5National Health Laboratory, Yangon 11191, Myanmar

Abstract

Soil-transmitted helminths, including Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, are important intestinal parasites mostly affecting younger people in developing countries. In 2014-2015, we performed mass fecal examinations targeting a total of 2,227 schoolchildren in 3 districts (South Dagon, North Dagon, and Hlaing-thar-yar) of Yangon Region, Myanmar, using the Kato-Katz thick smear technique. The egg positive children were subjected to a mass drug administration (MDA) using a single oral dose of 400 mg albendazole. The pre-treatment egg positive rate (EPG/person) of A. lumbricoides averaged 17.2% (15,532); it was 25.2% (21,796), 14.2% (11,816), and 12.8% (12,983) in 3 districts, respectively, and that of T. trichiura averaged 19.4% (1,074), and was 24.1% (1,040), 12.3% (852), and 21.2% (1,330) in 3 districts, respectively. Follow-up fecal examinations performed 4 months post-MDA revealed considerable decreases of A. lumbricoides prevalence (EPG/person) to av. 8.3% (12,429), and 13.7% (17,640), 8.0% (7,797), and 4.5% (11,849) in 3 districts, respectively. However, T. trichiura did not show any recognizable decrease in the prevalence (EPG/person) remaining at av. 18.2% (862), and 18.5% (888), 11.5% (812), and 23.3% (887) in 3 districts, respectively. The results demonstrated difficulty in short-term control of T. trichiura by MDA using albendazole and suggested necessity of either a long-term MDA (>10 years) or changing the albendazole regimen into 2~3-day course (total 800 or 1,200 mg), or using an alternative drug/drug combination.

Keyword

prevalence; effect of control; albendazole; schoolchildren; Myanmar
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