Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:37:08.180Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Measurement of Ascaris lumbricoides infection intensity and the dynamics of expulsion following treatment with mebendazole

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

J. E. Forresteer  and
M. E. Scott
J. E. Forresteer
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitology, Macdonald College of McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne de Bellevue, Quebec H9X 1CO Canada
M. E. Scott
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitology, Macdonald College of McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne de Bellevue, Quebec H9X 1CO Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides infection was measured in terms of egg counts and worm burden in children 2–10 years of age. The expulsion of A. lumbricoides with a 3-day treatment of mebendazole occurred over 8 days, beginning on the second day of treatment. Ninety-seven percent of the worms were expelled between the second and seventh days. A rapid means of estimating eggs per gram (epg) by the Kato Katz technique correlated well with the method described by Martin & Beaver (1968). In spite of apparent density dependence in egg production, A. lumbricoides egg counts correlated well with worm burdens. It is concluded that, within the context of community surveys, epg is a reasonable means of identifying heavily infected individuals and that epg can be estimated rapidly by a slight modification to the standard Kato Katz technique.

Keywords

Ascaris lumbricoidesintensitymebendazoleKato Katz technique
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 100 , Issue 2 , April 1990 , pp. 303 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R. M. & May, R. M. (1982). Population dynamics of human helminth infections: control by chemotherapy. Nature, London 297, 557–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, H. M. & Schad, G. A. (1985). Hookworm burdens and faecal egg counts: an analysis of the biological basis of variation. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 79, 812–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bundy, D. A. P., Thompson, D. E., Cooper, E. S. & Blanchard, J. (1985 a). Rate of expulsion of Trichuris trichiura with multiple and single dose regimens of albendazole. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 79, 641–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bundy, D. A. P., Thompson, D. E., Cooper, E. S., Golden, M. H. N. & Anderson, R. M. (1985b). Population dynamics and chemotherapeutic control of Trichuris trichiura infection of children in Jamaica and St. Lucia. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 79, 759–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Croll, N. A., Anderson, R. M., Gyorkos, T. W. & Ghadirian, E. (1982). The population biology and control of Ascaris lumbricoides in rural community in Iran. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 76, 187–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elkins, D. B., Haswell-Elkins, M. & Anderson, R. M. (1986). The epidemiology and control of intestinal helminths in the Pulicat Lake region of Southern India. 1. Study design and pre- and post-treatment observations on Ascaris lumbricoides infection. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 80, 774–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elkins, D. B., Haswell-Elkins, M. & Anderson, R. M. (1988). The importance of host age and sex to patterns of reinfection with Ascaris lumbricoides following mass anthelmintic treatment in a South Indian fishing community. Parasitology 96, 171–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forrester, J. E., Scott, M. E., Bundy, D. A. P. & Golden, M. H. N. (1988). Clustering of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infections within households. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 82, 282–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forrester, J. B., Scott, M. E., Bundy, D. A. P. & Golden, M. H. N. (1989). Predisposition of individuals and families to heavy infection with Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (in the Press)Google Scholar
Keymer, A. E. & Slater, A. F. G. (1987). Helminth fecundity: density dependence or statistical illusion? Parasitology Today 3, 56–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Margono, S. S., Oemijati, S., Roesin, R., Ilahude, H. D. & Rasad, R. (1980). The use of some techniques in the diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminths. Proceedings of the First Conference of the Asian Parasite Control Organisation (APCO), 94—101. In Collected Papers on the Control of Soil- Transmitted Helminthiasis APCO Vol. 1, pp. 5–11.Google Scholar
Martin, L. K. & Beaver, P. C. (1968). Evaluation of Kato's thick smear technique for the quantitative diagnosis of helminth infections. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 17, 382–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinniah, B., Sinniah, D. & Subramaniam, K. (1980). Comparison of Stoll's dilution egg count, Beaver's direct smear and Katz's modified thick smear techniques. In Collected Papers on the Control of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis APCO Vol. 1, pp.63–8Google Scholar
Thein-Hlaing, , Than-Saw, , Htay-Htay-Aye, , Myint-Lwin, & Thein-Maung-Mying, (1984). Epidemiology and transmission dynamics of Ascaris lumbricoides in Okpo village, rural Burma. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 78, 497–504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thein—Hlaing, , Than–Saw, & Myint–Lwin, (1987). Reinfection of people with Ascaris lumbricoides following single, 6-month and 12-month interval mass chemotherapy in Okpo village, rural Burma. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 81, 140–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar