OBJECTIVE: Preventive chemotherapy is the WHO-recommended control method for soil-transmitted helminthiases. In the Bolivian Chaco, 6-monthly single-dose mebendazole delivery to school-age children achieved a dramatic decrease in soil-transmitted helminthiases prevalence between 1987 and 2013. Consequently, in September 2016, preventive chemotherapy delivery was interrupted in 9 rural communities. In compliance with WHO recommendations, we intensified surveillance to monitor soil-transmitted helminthiases prevalence and detect potential changes that would require interventions.
METHODS: We conducted two cross-sectional parasitology surveys 12 months apart (September 2016 - 2017) amongst school-age children living in the communities where preventive chemotherapy delivery had been halted. Study design, methods of sampling and sample analysis technique (direct microscopy, Kato-Katz technique) followed WHO recommendations, aiming to obtain data representative of the Bolivian Chaco ecological zone.
RESULTS: We collected 426 samples in 2016 and 520 in 2017. Soil-transmitted helminthiases prevalence was unremarkable: 0.7% (95%CI 0-1.5%) in 2016 and 0.8% (0-1.5%) in 2017. Conversely, the prevalence of tapeworms (13% in 2016, 12% in 2017) and intestinal protozoan infections (81% in 2016 and 75% in 2017) continued to be high.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the role of preventive chemotherapy in reducing soil-transmitted helminthiases transmission, as otherwise poor hygienic and health conditions persist in the Bolivian Chaco. A national survey, involving areas from all the ecological zones of Bolivia, is now warranted. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
BT - Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH C1 -http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29660815?dopt=Abstract
DO - 10.1111/tmi.13058 J2 - Trop. Med. Int. Health LA - eng N2 -OBJECTIVE: Preventive chemotherapy is the WHO-recommended control method for soil-transmitted helminthiases. In the Bolivian Chaco, 6-monthly single-dose mebendazole delivery to school-age children achieved a dramatic decrease in soil-transmitted helminthiases prevalence between 1987 and 2013. Consequently, in September 2016, preventive chemotherapy delivery was interrupted in 9 rural communities. In compliance with WHO recommendations, we intensified surveillance to monitor soil-transmitted helminthiases prevalence and detect potential changes that would require interventions.
METHODS: We conducted two cross-sectional parasitology surveys 12 months apart (September 2016 - 2017) amongst school-age children living in the communities where preventive chemotherapy delivery had been halted. Study design, methods of sampling and sample analysis technique (direct microscopy, Kato-Katz technique) followed WHO recommendations, aiming to obtain data representative of the Bolivian Chaco ecological zone.
RESULTS: We collected 426 samples in 2016 and 520 in 2017. Soil-transmitted helminthiases prevalence was unremarkable: 0.7% (95%CI 0-1.5%) in 2016 and 0.8% (0-1.5%) in 2017. Conversely, the prevalence of tapeworms (13% in 2016, 12% in 2017) and intestinal protozoan infections (81% in 2016 and 75% in 2017) continued to be high.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the role of preventive chemotherapy in reducing soil-transmitted helminthiases transmission, as otherwise poor hygienic and health conditions persist in the Bolivian Chaco. A national survey, involving areas from all the ecological zones of Bolivia, is now warranted. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018 T2 - Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH TI - Scaling down a deworming program among school-age children after a thirty-year successful intervention in the Bolivian Chaco. SN - 1365-3156 ER -