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The acceptability and safety of praziquantel alone and in combination with mebendazole in the treatment of Schistosoma mansoni and soil-transmitted helminthiasis in children aged 1–4 years in Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2011

HARRIET NAMWANJE ,
NARCIS B. KABATEREINE  and
ANNETTE OLSEN
HARRIET NAMWANJE*
Affiliation:
Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 1661, Kampala, Uganda
NARCIS B. KABATEREINE
Affiliation:
Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 1661, Kampala, Uganda
ANNETTE OLSEN
Affiliation:
DBL-Centre for Health Research and Development, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 57, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author: Harriet Namwanje, Vector Control Division, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 1661, Kampala, Uganda, Tel: +256 752 642388 or +256 41 4251927. E-mail: harrietlwanga@ymail.com/harrnam@gmail.com
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Summary

Objective. There is limited information on the acceptability and safety of praziquantel for treatment of schistosomiasis in children below the age of four years. In addition, although mebendazole has been extensively used together with praziquantel against infections with schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) in school-aged children, no specific acceptability or safety studies have been published on this drug combination in younger children. Methods. A randomized clinical trial was conducted to determine the safety of praziquantel alone and in combination with mebendazole in the treatment of Schistosoma mansoni and STH in children aged 1 to 4 years. Results. A total of 596 children from Bwondha fishing community in Mayuge district and Wang-Kado fishing community in Nebbi district were investigated using duplicate Kato-Katz thick smears of two stool samples and 130 (21·8%) were found infected with S. mansoni. Of these, 19·2% (25) had heavy intensity of infections. Of the infected children, 82 were included and randomised into praziquantel (40 mg/kg) + mebendazole (500 mg) or praziquantel (40 mg/kg) alone. Conclusion. Many symptoms were reported before treatment while very few were reported after treatment and all on treatment day. No serious adverse events were reported or observed after treatment. Praziquantel with or without mebendazole was well tolerated in small children in the study area.

Keywords

Schistosoma mansonisoil-transmitted helminthiasismebendazolepraziquantelpre-school childrenUganda.NCT01050374
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 138 , Special Issue 12: Symposia of the British Society for Parasitology Volume 47 , October 2011 , pp. 1586 - 1592
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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