Control of intestinal helminths in schoolchildren in Low-Napo, Ecuador: impact of a two-year chemotherapy program

• Main Authors: Miguel San Sebastián, Santiago Santi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2000
• Subjects: Intestinal helminths; Control; Schoolchildren; Ecuador; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/889a0baf52cb48788a3445a0d3e670f7

A school-based control program of intestinal helminths was undertaken among schoolchildren in the Low-Napo region, north-eastern Ecuador. Forty-eight percent of children were infected with one or more helminths at the first examination. The prevalence at the baseline was Ascaris 33.2% followed by hookworm 24.1% and Trichuris 6.5%. Sex was found to be a significant factor influencing the prevalence of hookworm and Trichuris. Prevalence was compared 9 months and 18 months after treatment. After 9 months, Ascaris and Trichuris prevalence had decreased but not hookworm. All of them increased after 18 months. The findings suggest that only a course of mebendazol had a minor effect on the control of helminth infections.