title: Control of Schistosoma mansoni transmission by chemotherapy in St. Lucia. I. Results in man.
abstract: Control of Schistosoma mansoni transmission solely by treatment of all infected persons was attempted in Marquis Valley (population about 3,100), St. Lucia. Two-year results are reported. Excluding 26 pregnant patients, 709 to 729 persons who were found to be infected received treatment the first year. Most of these, 677, were given a single injection of hycanthone (2.5 mg/kg of body weight), and the same treatment was administered to 159 patients the second year. Side effects were not severe; the major side effect, vomiting, occurred in about 22% on both occasions. In villages with initially high transmission rates, the incidence of new infections in children 0 to 14 years fell from 20.8% before chemotherapy to 7.4% after 1 year and to 3.7% after 2 years. This pattern was significantly different from that in the comparison area where no control scheme exists. Chemotherapy alone appears to be a rapid, effective, and comparatively inexpensive method of controlling S. mansoni transmission in St. Lucia.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006826:Hycanthone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009560:Niridazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009600:Nitroquinolines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010073:Oxamniquine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013892:Thioxanthenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014900:West Indies
chemical_list: D009600:Nitroquinolines; D013892:Thioxanthenes; D010073:Oxamniquine; D006826:Hycanthone; D009560:Niridazole