A COMPARATIVE TRIAL OF A SINGLE-DOSE IVERMECTIN VERSUS 3 DAYS OF ALBENDAZOLE FOR TREATMENT OF STRONGYLOIDES-STERCORALIS AND OTHER SOIL-TRANSMITTED HELMINTH INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN

A randomized trial carried out in rural Zanzibar comparing a single do se of 200 mu g/kg of ivermectin and 400 mg/day for three days of alben dazole for treatment of strongyloidiasis and other intestinal nematode s is described. In 301 children with Strongyloides stercoralis infecti on, treatment with ivermectin or albendazole resulted in cure rates of 83% and 45%, respectively. While both drugs were very effective again st Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura was cured only in 11% (iv ermectin) and 43% (albendazole) of the subjects, although the mean egg load was reduced by 59% and 92%, respectively. Ivermectin was ineffect ive against hookworms, while albendazole resulted in a cure rate of 98 %. No severe side effects were recorded and mild side effects were of transient nature for both treatments. Therefore, ivermectin provides a safe and highly effective single dose treatment for S. stercoralis an d A. lumbricoides, while it is not an alternative for the treatment of T. trichiura and hookworm infections.