Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Ethiop J Health Sci. 2022 May;32(3):631-640. doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v32i3.20.
Schistosoma mansoni infection is endemic in Ethiopia. The epidemiology of S. mansoni and the efficacy of praziquantel among schoolchildren have not been well documented in different parts of the country including our study area. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the status of S. mansoni infection and evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of praziquantel among school children in northeast Ethiopia.
A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 499 children of two preschool children. Stool specimens were collected and microscopically examined using Kato-Katz (41.7 gram) methods. Positive children were treated with a single oral dose of praziquantel at 40 mg/kg body weight. Egg reduction and cure rates were assessed 4 weeks post-treatment to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of praziquantel against S. mansoni infection.
The overall prevalence of S. mansoni infection among the schoolchildren was 52.1% with a mean intensity of 546 eggs per gram of stool. Majorities of the S. mansoni infections were moderate to heavy intensity, with only 5.0% light infections. Praziquantel administered at a single oral dose of 40 mg/kg achieved a cure rate of 91.7% and reduced the egg rate by 86.8%. Twenty-one schoolchildren remained infected at 4 weeks post-treatment, among which 6 and 15 children had moderate and light infections, respectively.
S. mansoni prevalence among primary school children in Northeast Ethiopia was high, highlighting the need to implement school-based chemotherapy with annual frequency. The efficacy of praziquantel at 40 mg/kg is sufficient to permit continued use in treating S. mansoni-infected schoolchildren.
曼氏血吸虫病在埃塞俄比亚流行。在该国不同地区，包括我们的研究地区，曼氏血吸虫病的流行病学以及吡喹酮对学童的疗效尚未得到很好的记录。因此，本研究旨在确定曼氏血吸虫感染的现状，并评估吡喹酮在埃塞俄比亚东北部学童中的治疗效果。
对两所学前班的 499 名儿童进行了一项比较性横断面研究。采集粪便标本，用 Kato-Katz（41.7 克）方法进行镜检。对阳性儿童给予 40mg/kg 体重的单口服剂量吡喹酮治疗。治疗后 4 周评估虫卵减少率和治愈率，以评估吡喹酮对曼氏血吸虫感染的治疗效果。
学童中曼氏血吸虫感染的总患病率为 52.1%，粪便平均虫卵数为 546 个/克。大多数曼氏血吸虫感染为中重度，仅有 5.0%为轻度感染。给予单剂量 40mg/kg 的吡喹酮治疗，治愈率为 91.7%，虫卵减少率为 86.8%。21 名儿童在治疗后 4 周仍被感染，其中 6 名和 15 名儿童分别患有中度和轻度感染。
埃塞俄比亚东北部小学生中曼氏血吸虫的流行率很高，这突出表明需要实施以学校为基础的化疗，每年进行一次。40mg/kg 的吡喹酮疗效足够，可以继续用于治疗感染曼氏血吸虫的学童。
