The short-term impact of albendazole treatment on Oesophagostomum bifurcum and hookworm infections in northern Ghana
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
In November-December 2002, stool samples from a random sample of the human population (N = 190) in the Garu area of northern Ghana were checked for intestinal helminths, using a single Kato smear and duplicate coprocultures for each subject. All 190 subjects were subsequently treated with a single, 400-mg dose of albendazole and 146 of them were successfully re-examined 21-28 days post-treatment. Prior to treatment, 75.5% of the Kato smears were found to contain 'hookworm-like' eggs (with a geometric mean egg count among the positives of 578 eggs/g faeces), and the third-stage larvae of Oesophagostomum bifurcum and hookworm were found in the cultures of stools from 34.2% and 77.4% of the subjects, respectively. Among the subjects who had positive Kato smears before treatment, albendazole treatment led to a cure 'rate' of 79.0% and an egg-reduction 'rate' of 73.5%. The results from the coprocultures indicated cure 'rates' of 98.0% for O. bifurcum but only 51.3% for hookworm. Only one subject was still positive for O. bifurcum after treatment. Among those still positive for hookworm after treatment, the larva-reduction 'rate' was 79.8%. The egg-/larva-reduction 'rates' among those with heavy infections prior to treatment were > 90%, whether the data analysed came from the Kato smears or the coprocultures. It may be concluded that a single dose of albendazole is very likely to cure an O. bifurcum infection and to reduce greatly the intensity (but not the prevalence) of any hookworm infections.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 385-390 |
Number of pages | 6 |
ISSN | 0003-4983 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
ID: 224706377