%0 Journal Article
%T Patterns of geohelminth infection, impact of albendazole treatment and re-infection after treatment in schoolchildren from rural KwaZulu-Natal/South-Africa
%A Elmar Saathoff
%A Annette Olsen
%A Jane D Kvalsvig
%A Chris C Appleton
%J BMC Infectious Diseases
%D 2004
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2334-4-27
%X Grade 3 schoolchildren from Maputaland in northern KZN were examined for infections with hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Trichuris trichiura, treated twice with 400 mg albendazole and re-examined several times over one year after the first treatment in order to assess the impact of treatment and patterns of infection and re-infection.The hookworm prevalence in the study population (83.2%) was considerably higher than in other parts of the province whereas T. trichiura and especially A. lumbricoides prevalences (57.2 and 19.4%, respectively) were much lower than elsewhere on the KZN coastal plain. Single dose treatment with albendazole was very effective against hookworm and A. lumbricoides with cure rates (CR) of 78.8 and 96.4% and egg reduction rates (ERR) of 93.2 and 97.7%, respectively. It was exceptionally ineffective against T. trichiura (CR = 12.7%, ERR = 24.8%). Re-infection with hookworm and A. lumbricoides over 29 weeks after treatment was considerable but still well below pre-treatment levels.High geohelminth prevalences and re-infection rates in the study population confirm the need for regular treatment of primary school children in the area. The low effectiveness of single course albendazole treatment against T. trichiura infection however demands consideration of alternative treatment approaches.Geohelminth infections are among the most prevalent diseases in developing countries. Children are the group with the highest prevalences and infection intensities and are also very vulnerable to the effects of worm infection. These include nutritional deficiencies [1,2] and impaired physical and mental development [3-5], resulting in additional insults to an already disadvantaged group. Thus, even though the proportion of cases that develops clinical disease is relatively low, the enormous number of infections warrants attention to this public health problem [6].Consequently in 1998 the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health initiated a pilot helminth co
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/4/27