High prevalence of helminth infections in mother-child pairs from three central provinces of Lao People's Democratic Republic

Claude P Muller,Kong Sayasinh,Antony P Black,Maude Pauly,Somphou Sayasone

doi:10.1016/j.parepi.2019.e00122

Claude P Muller, Kong Sayasinh + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parepi.2019.e00122

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Abstract

In Southeast Asia, the large majority of the population remains affected by parasitic worms despite longstanding mass treatment and health education campaigns. Soil-transmitted helminths and also the fish-borne liver fluke negatively affect development during early childhood.Here, the prevalence of helminth infections in stool samples of 610 mother-child pairs from Khammouane, Bolikhamxay and Vientiane provinces in Lao People's Democratic Republic was determined by formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique.Overall, 15.1% of the children and 46.9% of the mothers were positive for at least one helminth species. Helminth detection rates varied significantly by province with the highest prevelance in Khammouane and the lowest in Bolikhamxay province. Mothers that were positive for soil-transmitted helminths were significantly more likely to have children positive for the same helminth species (p < 0.01) but this was not the case for the liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini. A protective effect of breastfeeding against soil-transmitted helminths was revealed.Our data reconfirm the generally high helminth burden among mother-child pairs who likely share a number of risky lifestyle behaviors also with other family members. To reduce maternal burden of helminths, we propose that anti-helmintic treatment of women of childbearing age and of mothers during postnatal care should be included in the national strategy.

Highlights

The control of neglected tropical diseases caused by helminths is challenging
Mass deworming campaigns in preschool- and school children have been insufficient, they reduce the intensity of helminthic infections as shown for Lao children (Phommasack et al, 2008)
We show here that a high proportion of preschool children in Bolikhamxay, Khammouane and Vientiane provinces get a helminthic infection already during early childhood

Summary

Introduction

The control of neglected tropical diseases caused by helminths is challenging. Billions of people in developing countries are affected by these parasitic worms that are associated with childhood anaemia, malnutrition, stunting, and cognitive impairment (Pabalan et al, 2018; Jourdan et al, 2018; Pullan et al, 2014; Hotez et al, 2014). Mass deworming campaigns in preschool- and school children have been insufficient, they reduce the intensity of helminthic infections as shown for Lao children (Phommasack et al, 2008). In Southeast Asia, the vast majority of the population remains affected by parasitic worms despite longstanding mass treatment and health education campaigns (Dunn et al, 2016). Numerous studies underline the public health threat of O. viverrini with high infection rates among Lao adults and school-aged children (Sayasone et al, 2007, 2009, 2011; Rim et al, 2003; Saiyachak et al, 2016; Vonghachack et al, 2017; Feldmeier et al, 2016; Forrer et al, 2012). Domestic carnivores may be source of infection for this trematode, and other zoonotic helminths (Otake et al, 2018; Conlan et al, 2011, 2012; Vonghachack et al, 2017)

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