Abstract
Soil transmitted helminths (STH) infection is a major health problem in tropical countries such as Indonesia. Albendazole is an effective and widely used anthelmintic agent to treat STH; however, it is not effective towards T. trichiura and its effectiveness varies between populations. Hence, we conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of triple dose albendazole in children of Perobatang village, Southwest Sumba, Indonesia. A pre-post study was carried out in Perobatang village on July 2016. Children aged 1-15 years old were enrolled in the study and asked to collect stool samples which were then examined using Kato-Katz method. The children infected with STH were given albendazole 400 mg for three consecutive days. From 246 subjects examined, 192 (78%) were positive for any STH consisting of T. trichiura (64%), A. lumbricoides (60%), and hookworms (10%). After treatment, the prevalence of STH decreased significantly (McNemar test, p<0.001) to 27%, T. trichiura 25%, A. lumbricoides 2%, and hookworm 0%. Cure rate for T. trichiura, A. lumbricoides, and hookworms was 61%, 97%, and 100%, respectively. Significant decrease of eggs per gram of feces was found in all STH (Wilcoxon test, p value <0.001 for A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura, p value = 0.027 for hookworms); egg reduction rate for T. trichiura was 91%, A. lumbricoides was 100%, and hookworms was 100%. In conclusion, triple dose albendazole is effective in controlling STH in children of Perobatang village, Southwest Sumba, Indonesia.
Highlights
Soil transmitted helminths (STH) infection is a public health problem especially among rural areas in tropical countries
The cure rate (CR) of hookworm and A. lumbricoides is more than 90% while that of T. trichiura is less than 90%
We show the effectiveness of triple dose albendazole in reducing the prevalence of STH
Summary
Soil transmitted helminths (STH) infection is a public health problem especially among rural areas in tropical countries. The most common STH are Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworms [1, 2]. The highest prevalence of STH occurs in areas where sanitation is inadequate and clean water is scarce such as Southwest Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Sungkar et al [3] reported that in Kalena Rongo village, Southwest Sumba, the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was 95.5% [A. lumbricoides (65.8%), T. trichiura (60.4%), hookworms (53.5%)]. WHO [4] recommends periodic administration of single dose albendazole 400 mg or mebendazole 500 mg to control STH in populations at risk including pre-school and school-age children. A study is required to investigate the effectiveness of triple dose 400 mg albendazole in treating STH
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