Dw. Meyrowitsch et al., MASS DEC CHEMOTHERAPY FOR CONTROL OF BANCROFTIAN FILARIASIS - COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF 4 STRATEGIES 2 YEARS AFTER START OF TREATMENT, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 90(4), 1996, pp. 423-428
Citations number
22
Categorie Soggetti
Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath","Tropical Medicine
The efficacy of 4 strategies for control of bancroftian filariasis usi
ng mass diethylcarbamazine (DEC) chemotherapy was evaluated and compar
ed in 4 endemic communities in Tanzania 2 years after the start of tre
atment. The strategies used were the standard 12 d treatment (strategy
I), a semi-annual single dose treatment (strategy II), a monthly low
dose treatment (strategy III), and DEC medicated salt (strategy IV). T
reatment took place during the first study year, and no treatment was
given during the second year. Among individuals who were microfilaraem
ic before treatment, the microfilaria (mf) clearance rates were 41.5%,
75.0%, 84.0% and 89.1%, and the pre-treatment mf geometric mean inten
sities (GMIs) were reduced by 97.1%, 98.9%, 99.8% and 99.8%, for strat
egies I, II, III and IV, respectively, 2 years after starting treatmen
t. Statistical analysis indicated that strategies III and IV were equa
lly effective, and superior in clearing microfilaraemias and in reduci
ng mf GMIs compared to strategies I and II; strategy II was significan
tly more effective than strategy I. The rate of occurrence of new case
s of microfilaraemia among individuals who were amicrofilaraemic durin
g the pre-treatment surveys was negligible over the study period in al
l communities. In all the communities combined, 66.6% of males present
ing hydrocele before treatment, and 61.5% of individuals presenting el
ephantiasis before treatment, showed improvements in these conditions
2 years after the start of treatment, either as a reduction in size or
complete disappearance.