REINFECTION WITH HOOKWORM AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY IN PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA

Reinfection with hookworm (Necator americanus) following chemotherapy was studied over 2 years in a rural village in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. The prevalence of hookworm infection had returned to pre-t reatment levels after 2 years, and the geometric mean hookworm burden had returned to 58 % of the pre-treatment value. The rate of acquisiti on of adult worms was independent of host age, and was estimated as a geometric mean of 2.9-3.3 worms/host/year (arithmetic mean 7.9-8.9 wor ms/host/year). There was significant predisposition to hookworm infect ion; the strength of this predisposition did not vary significantly be tween age or sex classes.