The impact of schistosomiasis mass treatment on hepato-splenomegaly in Napu Valley, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The impact of mass treatment with praziquantel on 241 individuals, 131 males and 110 females in Napu Valley, Indonesia was studied. The pre-treatment overall stool positive cases ranged from 43% to 79%, the highest in the 20-29 age group. Post-treatment follow-up study showed that the cases dropped to 2.5%. Significant reduction was seen in liver rate from 68% to 51% and in the age groups 0-9, 10-19, there was a significant decrease in liver enlargement after treatment, but not significant differences were seen in spleen rate in all age groups. This might be due to the early stage of Schistosoma infection in younger age groups where complete resolution of fibrosis might occur.