Soil transmitted helminth infections and schistosomiasis in school age children in sub-Saharan Africa: Efficacy of chemotherapeutic intervention since World Health Assembly Resolution 2001

Abstract

Soil transmitted helminth infections (STH) and schistosomiasis constitute major public health challenges among school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa. This review assessed the efficacy of chemotherapeutic intervention in line with the World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution since the passage in 2001. Using the Medline Entrez-Pubmed search, relevant publications were identified via combinations of key words such as helminth infection, school children, chemotherapy, Africa. Albendazole, mebendazole, and praziquantel were the antihelminthic drugs most commonly evaluated. Cure rates >80% and egg reduction rates >90% were recorded in most cases of schistosomiasis using praziquantel. Albendazole was very effective against A. lumbricoides and hookworm infections with majority of the studies recording cure rates >75%, but the efficacy of the drug was poor against T. trichiura. To ensure the realization of the WHA resolution, there is need for regular treatment of school children, development of alternative antihelminthic drugs and vaccines, environmental control measures and health education. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Trichuris trichiura infection and its relation to environmental factors in Mbeya region, Tanzania: A cross-sectional, population-based study

“…trichiura with previous worm treatment is counter-intuitive, but given the frequently observed high reinfection rate [35] and the low effectiveness of the available drugs against T . trichiura infection [5, 6], our results seem reasonable. Seeking worm treatment in the first place suggests that the participants had, or at least assumed to have a helminth infection.…”

“…Indeed, T . trichiura infection seems to be difficult to cure, since the available drugs are not very effective against this helminth infection [5, 6]. …”

Prevalence of intestinal helminths and associated factors among school children of Medebay Zana wereda; North Western Tigray, Ethiopia 2017

“…Infestation by intestinal helminths is the major public health problem which causes chronic inflammatory disorder such as chronic anemia, growth stunting, protein-calorie malnutrition, fatigue, poor cognitive performance, reduce long term survival, diminished physical fitness and school attendance in school-age children [7, 8]. Intestinal helminths infections like acute and chronic complications of S. mansoni also cause very severe consequences like abdominal pain, diarrhea, hepatosplenomegaly, portal hypertension, and upper gastrointestinal bleeding [9].…”

Prevention and control of neglected tropical diseases: overview of randomized trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses

“…When the number of participants in cluster randomized trials was taken into account, when available, rather than the number of clusters, the median sample size was 396 (interquartile range: 123-1425). 40 3 on schistosomiasis, [41][42][43] 1 on geohelminths 43 and 1 on American trypanosomiasis. 44 Details of the systematic reviews are given in Appendix B (available at: https://stanford.box.…”