Successful Eradication of Ascaris lumbricoides and Hookworm Infection after Three Repeated Doses of Albendazole
KOM SUKONTASON, M.D., Ph.D.*, SOMSAK PIANGJAI, Dip. M.S.T.*, JUNTRA KARBWANG, M.D., Ph.D.*** KABKAEW SUKONTASON, Ph.D.*, KESARA NA-BANGCHANG, Ph.D.**,
Affiliation : * Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, ** Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University, Rangsit Center, Prathum Thani 12121, Thailand. *** Product Research and Development Unit, TDRIWHO, Geneva 27, Switzerland.
Three repeated orally doses of albendazole 400 mg in 6 weekly intervals were evaluated m Thai hill-tribe students who had at least one kind of soil-transmitted helminths (i.e. Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm and Trichuris trichiura). Stool examination and parasite egg count were performed using Beaver's standard direct smear method and Kato-Katz's cellophane thick smear method prior to treatment and then I month after the first, second and third dose of drug adminis- trations. A single dose of albendazole was very effective against A. lumbricoides and hookworm infections, with cure rates of 98.68 per cent and 92.16 per cent, respectively. The second and third dosages eradicated A. lumbricoides and hookworm infections, respectively. Conversely, the first to third cure rates for T. trichiura infection were relatively low, being 37.76-58.16 per cent. Three repeated doses of albendazole proved to be beneficial in eradication of A. lumbricoides and hookworm infections, and decreased the prevalence of T. trichiura infected cases. For eradication of T. trichiura infection, further regimen and period of drug administration is required.
Keywords : Repeated Treatment, Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Albendazole
