Efficacy of Single Dose Anthelminthic Treatment against Soil Transmitted Helminth Infections and Schistosomiasis Among School Children in Selected Rural Communities in South East Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Soil-transmitted helminth infections and schistosomiasis constitute a major public health problem in developing countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of single dose anthelminthic treatment against soil-transmitted helminthic infections and schistosomiasis among school children in Ebonyi State. Subjects and Methods: A school-based chemotherapeutic intervention study was conducted from September 2007 to January 2008 among five hundred and seventy-six primary school children selected by multistage sampling technique. The study was carried out in three distinct stages: pre-chemotherapeutic, chemotherapeutic and post-chemotherapeutic intervention stages. Selected children diagnosed as infected with the helminths investigated were treated. The efficacy of anthelminthic treatment was determined by helminth egg count at four, eight and sixteen weeks post-treatment. Results: Up to 38.5% of the children had at least one helminth infection. Ascaris lumbricoides was the commonest STH encountered. The cure rate 4 weeks after the treatment of STH infection was lowest in Trichuris trichiura cases. At week 8 and week 16 there was a 100% cure rate for all the cases with STH infection. The egg reduction rate at weeks 8 and 16 was 100% for all the STH infection but ranged from 90.6% to 94.4% at week 16 for the S. haematobium infected cases. At week 16 following treatment, the cure rates for S. haematobium infection ranged from 70.8% to 74.0%. Conclusion: This study has shown the efficacy of single dose anthelminthic treatment against soil-transmitted helminth infections and schistosomiasis among school-age children.