Assessment of Anthelmintic Efficacy of Mebendazole in School Children in Six Countries Where Soil-transmitted Helminths Are Endemic

Overview

Journal PLoS Negl Trop Dis

Specialties Infectious Diseases
Tropical Medicine

Date 2014 Oct 10

PMID 25299391

Citations 61

Authors

Bruno Levecke

Antonio Montresor

Marco Albonico

Shaali M Ame

Jerzy M Behnke

Jeffrey M Bethony

Calvine D Noumedem

Dirk Engels

Bertrand Guillard

Andrew C Kotze

Alejandro J Krolewiecki

James S McCarthy

Zeleke Mekonnen

Maria V Periago

Hem Sopheak

Louis-Albert Tchuem-Tchuente

Tran Thanh Duong

Nguyen Thu Huong

Ahmed Zeynudin

Jozef Vercruysse

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Robust reference values for fecal egg count reduction (FECR) rates of the most widely used anthelmintic drugs in preventive chemotherapy (PC) programs for controlling soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm) are still lacking. However, they are urgently needed to ensure detection of reduced efficacies that are predicted to occur due to growing drug pressure. Here, using a standardized methodology, we assessed the FECR rate of a single oral dose of mebendazole (MEB; 500 mg) against STHs in six trials in school children in different locations around the world. Our results are compared with those previously obtained for similarly conducted trials of a single oral dose of albendazole (ALB; 400 mg).

Methodology: The efficacy of MEB, as assessed by FECR, was determined in six trials involving 5,830 school children in Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, and Vietnam. The efficacy of MEB was compared to that of ALB as previously assessed in 8,841 school children in India and all the above-mentioned study sites, using identical methodologies.

Principal Findings: The estimated FECR rate [95% confidence interval] of MEB was highest for A. lumbricoides (97.6% [95.8; 99.5]), followed by hookworm (79.6% [71.0; 88.3]). For T. trichiura, the estimated FECR rate was 63.1% [51.6; 74.6]. Compared to MEB, ALB was significantly more efficacious against hookworm (96.2% [91.1; 100], p<0.001) and only marginally, although significantly, better against A. lumbricoides infections (99.9% [99.0; 100], p = 0.012), but equally efficacious for T. trichiura infections (64.5% [44.4; 84.7], p = 0.906).

Conclusions/significance: A minimum FECR rate of 95% for A. lumbricoides, 70% for hookworm, and 50% for T. trichiura is expected in MEB-dependent PC programs. Lower FECR results may indicate the development of potential drug resistance.

Citing Articles

Interplay Between Helminth Infections, Malnutrition, and Gut Microbiota in Children and Mothers from Pemba, Tanzania: Potential of Microbiota-Directed Interventions.

Toussaint Nguele A, Mozzicafreddo M, Carrara C, Piersanti A, Salum S, Ali S Nutrients. 2024; 16(23).

PMID: 39683417 PMC: 11643142. DOI: 10.3390/nu16234023.

Morphological identification of hookworm species in five regions of Cameroon.

Dongmo C, Jatsa H, Tchuem Tchuente L Helminthologia. 2024; 61(3):224-231.

PMID: 39679330 PMC: 11637546. DOI: 10.2478/helm-2024-0025.

Efficacy of albendazole against soil-transmitted helminth infections in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sisay M, Damtie D, Hailu T Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):21970.

PMID: 39304661 PMC: 11415504. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-71308-3.

New Insights on Tools for Detecting β-Tubulin Polymorphisms in Using rhAmp SNP Genotyping.

Rivero J, Cutillas C, Callejon R Animals (Basel). 2024; 14(11).

PMID: 38891592 PMC: 11171370. DOI: 10.3390/ani14111545.

Association between Food or Nutrients and Gut Microbiota in Healthy and Helminth-Infected Women of Reproductive Age from Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Toussaint Nguele A, Carrara C, Mozzicafreddo M, Chen H, Piersanti A, Salum S Nutrients. 2024; 16(9).

PMID: 38732513 PMC: 11085056. DOI: 10.3390/nu16091266.

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