A comparative study of different albendazole and mebendazole regimens for the treatment of intestinal infections in school children of Usigu Division, western Kenya.
A clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of 4- and 6-mo repeated treatment with albendazole 600 mg (Zentel, SmithKline Beecham) or mebendazole 600 mg (Vermox, Janssen) on geohelminth infections was carried out on children in 6 primary schools; the study included 1,186 children, ages 4 to 19 yr. Kato-Katz examination was performed on stool samples before and after treatment. Overall, albendazole produced better cure rates and egg reduction rates for geohelminths. The cure rates for albendazole were 92.4% for hookworm infection, 83.5% for Ascaris lumbricoides, and 67.8% for Trichuris trichiura. Mebendazole given either 2 or 3 times in a year had cure rates of 50 and 55.0% (respectively) for hookworm, 79.6 and 97.5% for A. lumbricoides, and 60.6 and 68.3% for T. trichiura infection. The geometric mean intensity of hookworm eggs per gram (epg) of stool decreased by 96.7% after albendazole treatment compared with 66.3 and 85.1%, respectively, for 2 or 3 doses of mebendazole (P < 0.05) over the same period. Reductions in epg for A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura were comparable for both drugs. Our results indicate that treatment with albendazole at a 6-mo interval was more effective than mebendazole regimens and may be the best choice for use in the control of the 3 geohelminths.
Muchiri
E M
EM
Division of Vector Borne Diseases, Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya.
Thiong'o
F W
FW
Magnussen
P
P
Ouma
J H
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015766:Albendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D008463:Mebendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015995:Prevalence; D012621:Seasons
D000871:Anthelmintics; D008463:Mebendazole; D015766:Albendazole