EFFICACY OF SINGLE DOSE ALBENDAZOLE TREATMENT OF SOIL-TRANSMITTED HELMINTHS AMONG INDIGENOUS CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA: Albendazole Efficacy

Albendazole, a synthetic nitroimidazole with a broad spectrum antinematode and anticathode activities, has been routinely used to treat soil-transmitted helminths (STH) infection. In Malaysia, STH infection prevalence is significantly higher among indigenous (Orang Asli) community, which resides in an environment highly susceptible to STH infection. Efficacy of a single dose albendazole (400 mg) treatment against Ascaris lumbricoides (AL, large roundworm) and Trichuris trichiura (TT, whipworm) was evaluated among Orang Asli children (n = 68, 2-17 years of age) who never or at least one month prior had undergone deworming treatment. The prevalence of both AL and TT was 85%. The overall cure rate among all age groups was 93% for AL and 41% for TT while egg reduction rates among uncured participants were 99.9% and 55.7 % for AL and TT, respectively. Infection with AL was mainly of mild intensity, which was nearly absent following treatment, while TT infection mainly was of mild to moderate intensity, which was reduced by about 50% after treatment. In conclusion, a single dose albendazole treatment was effective in treatment of Ascaris lumbricoides and to lesser extent of Trichuris trichiura infection among Orang Asli children, suggesting a higher dosage of albendazole would be required for effective treatment of whipworm infection.