The Effectiveness of Triple Dose Albendazole in Treating Soil Transmitted Helminths Infection

Soil transmitted helminths (STH) infection is a major health problem in tropical countries such as Indonesia. Albendazole is an effective and widely used anthelmintic agent to treat STH; however, it is not effective towards T. trichiura and its effectiveness varies between populations. Hence, we conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of triple dose albendazole in children of Perobatang village, Southwest Sumba, Indonesia. A pre-post study was carried out in Perobatang village on July 2016. Children aged 1-15 years old were enrolled in the study and asked to collect stool samples which were then examined using Kato-Katz method. The children infected with STH were given albendazole 400 mg for three consecutive days. From 246 subjects examined, 192 (78%) were positive for any STH consisting of T. trichiura (64%), A. lumbricoides (60%), and hookworms (10%). After treatment, the prevalence of STH decreased significantly (McNemar test, p<0.001) to 27%, T. trichiura 25%, A. lumbricoides 2%, and hookworm 0%. Cure rate for T. trichiura, A. lumbricoides, and hookworms was 61%, 97%, and 100%, respectively. Significant decrease of eggs per gram of feces was found in all STH (Wilcoxon test, p value <0.001 for A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura, p value = 0.027 for hookworms); egg reduction rate for T. trichiura was 91%, A. lumbricoides was 100%, and hookworms was 100%. In conclusion, triple dose albendazole is effective in controlling STH in children of Perobatang village, Southwest Sumba, Indonesia.