Impact of two annual single-dose mass drug administrations with diethylcarbamazine alone or in combination with albendazole on Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaraemia and antigenaemia in south India.
A two-arm community-based lymphatic filariasis elimination trial is being carried out in Tamil Nadu state, India to assess the effect of 2 annual single-dose mass drug administrations of diethylcarbamazine + albendazole (DEC + ALB) on microfilaraemia and antigenaemia in one arm, and diethylcarbamazine(DEC) alone in the other arm. In a cross-sectional survey at each time-point, 450-650 subjects in childhood (2-9 years old) and young adulthood (10-25 years old) were screened from each treatment arm. After 2 annual mass drug administrations, microfilaraemia prevalence in the 2-drug arm was reduced by 54% and 62% in the 2-9 year old and 10-25 year old groups respectively; and corresponding figures for the single-drug arm were 26% and 37%. Though higher reductions were recorded for geometric mean intensity of microfilaraemia in the 2-9 year old groups for both treatment arms, reduction was more pronounced in the 2-drug arm than the single drug arm (74% vs. 24%) in the 10-25 year old group. The reduction in the antigenaemia prevalence in the 2-9 year old group was evident in both treatment arms, but in the 10-25 year old group the reduction was only 16.8% in the 2-drug arm. Our results suggest that the annual, single-dose combination (DEC + ALB) mass treatment regimen has an enhanced effect against bancroftian filariasis compared to single-drug therapy.
Rajendran
R
R
Centre for Research in Medical Entomology (Indian Council of Medical Research), 9/4, Sarojini Street, Chinna Chokkikulam, Madurai, Tamil Nadu-625 002, India. crmeicmr@satyam.net.in
Sunish
I P
IP
Mani
T R
TR
Munirathinam
A
A
Abdullah
S Md
SM
Arunachalam
N
N
Satyanarayana
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015766:Albendazole / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti
D000871:Anthelmintics; D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D015766:Albendazole; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine