Rate of reinfection with intestinal nematodes after treatment of children with mebendazole or albendazole in a highly endemic area

Authors:
  • PSPeter G. Smith
    Peter G. Smith
  • EEElena Ercole
    Elena Ercole
  • AHAndrew Hall
    Andrew Hall
  • HCHababu M. Chwaya
    Hababu M. Chwaya
  • KAKassim S. Alawi
    Kassim S. Alawi
  • LSLorenzo Savioli
    Lorenzo Savioli
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Abstract
The comparative efficacy of albendazole and mebendazole in the treatment of intestinal nematode infections were compared 3 weeks after treatment in a randomized trial among schoolchildren on Pemba Island, Tanzania. Egg counts were compared 3 weeks, 4 months and 6 months after treatment of 731 children seen on each occasion. Differences in the efficacies were apparent with some nematodes 21 d after treatment, but these were no longer apparent 4 months after treatment, and by 6 months intensities of infection were similar to pre-treatment levels. These findings suggest that treatment of schoolchildren every 4 months may be necessary in this highly endemic area in order to have an impact on the intensity of intestinal nematode infections sufficient to be likely to reduce morbidity.

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