Evaluation of two years of mass chemotherapy against ascariasis in Hamadan, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the mass treatment of ascariasis in rural areas of Hamadan Province, Islamic Republic of Iran.

METHODS:

A control programme in rural areas of Hamadan Province, which began in November 1997, involved giving all persons a single dose of 400 mg albendazole at intervals of three months. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated by the formalin-ether concentration technique for stool examination and by the Stoll quantitative method.

FINDINGS:

The average rate of infection with Ascaris before treatment was 53.3%, ranging from 40% in Hamadan district to 75% in Toysercan. Two areas, Malayer and Nahavand, were excluded from the programme because the infection rates were only 13% and 4%, respectively. After two years of mass treatment the infection rate had decreased to 6%. The proportion of positive cases excreting only unfertilized eggs increased to 32%. No side-effects of mass treatment were observed.

CONCLUSION:

Systematic mass treatment giving high coverage proved to be very effective in the control of ascariasis, notwithstanding a lack of other preventive measures.

• Authors: Mohammad Fallah, Akbar Mirarab, Farzad Jamalian, Ahmad Ghaderi
• Journal: Bulletin of the World Health Organization (Bull World Health Organ) Vol. 80 Issue 5 Pg. 399-402 ( 2002) ISSN: 0042-9686 [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 12077616 (Publication Type: Evaluation Study, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Anthelmintics
• Albendazole

Topics

• Albendazole (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Animals
• Anthelmintics (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Ascariasis (drug therapy, epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Ascaris lumbricoides (drug effects, pathogenicity)
• Communicable Disease Control
• Humans
• Iran (epidemiology)
• Prevalence
• Program Evaluation
• Rural Population