[Helminth and pinworm control for primary school and kindergarten children by periodical mass-examination and treatment in Suan-Yuan District, Taipei (author's transl)].

The mass pre-control survey was done in fall semester 1978 by both methods that Kato's thick smear for helminthic infection and cellophane tape perianal swab for pinworm infection. There are about 19,000 primary school children and around 5,000 kindergarten children in Suan-yuan District, being the subjects. The helminthic positive rates (%) obtained were 5.18 and 3.81, respectively. The rates for pinworm were found 28.68% former and 29.00% for the latter. Drug was given to the egg-positive persons after mass examination, in each semester, for three consecutive years. Two broad-spectrum anthelmintics, pyrantel pamoate and mebendazole were used. The children who harbored Ascaris, hookworm or pinworm were given pyrantel tablet as a single dose of 10 mg/kg body weight, and whipworm positives were given a standard course of 100 mg of mebendazole twice daily for three days. After three-year operation, in accordance with the results of examination in Spring semester 1981, the egg positive rates were sharply dropped to 0.56% for the primary school children and 0.50% for the kindergarten. The pinworm infection rates for the above-mentioned group were also reduced to 13.05% and 18.68%, respectively.