Low Efficacy of Single-Dose Albendazole and Mebendazole against Hookworm and Effect on Concomitant Helminth Infection in Lao PDR

Parasitic worms remain a public health problem in developing countries. Regular deworming with the drugs albendazole and mebendazole is the current global control strategy. We assessed the efficacies of a single tablet of albendazole (400 mg) and mebendazole (500 mg) against hookworm in children of southern Lao PDR. From each child, two stool samples were examined for the presence and number of hookworm eggs. Two hundred children were found to be infected. They were randomly assigned to albendazole (n = 100) or mebendazole (n = 100) treatment. Three weeks later, another two stool samples were analyzed for hookworm eggs. Thirty-two children who were given albendazole had no hookworm eggs anymore in their stool, while only 15 children who received mebendazole were found egg-negative. The total number of hookworm eggs was reduced by 85.3% in the albendazole and 74.5% in the mebendazole group. About one third of the children who were co-infected with the Asian liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini were cleared from this infection following albendazole treatment and about one forth in the mebendazole group. Concluding, both albendazole and mebendazole showed disappointingly low cure rates against hookworm, with albendazole performing somewhat better. The effect of these two drugs against O. viverrini should be studied in greater detail