Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:26:22.709Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An investigation of hookworm infection and reinfection following mass anthelmintic treatment in the South Indian fishing community of Vairavankuppam

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Melissa R. Haswell-Elkins ,
D. B. Elkins ,
K. Manjula ,
E. Michael  and
R. M. Anderson
Melissa R. Haswell-Elkins
Affiliation:
Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Imperial College, University of London, Prince Consort Road, London SW1 2BB
D. B. Elkins
Affiliation:
Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Imperial College, University of London, Prince Consort Road, London SW1 2BB
K. Manjula
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Madras 600 059, Tamil Nadu, India
E. Michael
Affiliation:
Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Imperial College, University of London, Prince Consort Road, London SW1 2BB
R. M. Anderson
Affiliation:
Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Imperial College, University of London, Prince Consort Road, London SW1 2BB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Hookworm infections, as assessed by counting worms expelled following anthelmintic treatment and by egg output, were found to be of low prevalence and intensity in a South Indian fishing community. The initial overall prevalence of infection in the community was 43%, and the average burden was estimated at 2·2 hookworms per person. The age profiles of prevalence and intensity differed between males and females, with the latter harbouring significantly higher levels of infection. Children of both sexes under 10 years of age rarely harboured hookworms. Treatment with pyrantel pamoate was estimated to be 91% effective in clearing hookworm infections. Egg counts made on stools collected during an 11-month period of reinfection indicated that female patients became reinfected soon after treatment, while little hookworm egg excretion was observed in males during the observation period following treatment. Females acquired a significantly higher number of worms during the reinfection period compared with males, although the average burden in females reached only 28% of the initial, pre-treatment level. The hookworm population consisted of predominantly Necator americanus, and less than 10% of Ancylostoma duodenale. The parasites were highly aggregated within the host population with 10% of the community harbouring over 65% of the total hookworms. Low values of the negative binomial aggregation parameter, k, (indicating extreme over-dispersion) were recorded in groups stratified by age and sex. Highly significant positive correlations were observed between the initial (pre-treatment) and reinfection worm burdens of female (but not of male) patients. It is suggested that occupational practices related to walking through areas contaminated with hookworm larvae play an important role in generating the observed patterns of infection within this community.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 96 , Issue 3 , June 1988 , pp. 565 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCE

Anderson, R. M., (1986). The population dynamics and epidemiology of intestinal nematode infections. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 80, 686–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, R. M., & Schad, G. A., (1985). Hookworm burdens and faecal egg counts: an analysis of the biological basis of variation. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 79, 812–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Behnke, J. M., (1987). Do hookworms elicit protective immunity in man?. Parasitology Today 3, 200–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chandler, A. C., (1927 a). The prevalence and epidemiology of hookworm and other helminthic infections in India. XI. Madras Presidency and southern states. Indian Journal of Medical Research 15, 159–80.Google Scholar
Chandler, A. C., (1927 b). The prevalence and epidemiology of hookworm and other helminthic infections in India. XII. General summary and conclusions. Indian Journal of Medical Research 15, 695–746.Google Scholar
Docherty, J. F., (1926). Hookworm infestation and reinfestation in Ceylon. A study of high incidence with a moderate degree of infestation. American Journal of Hygiene 6, 160–71.Google Scholar
Elkins, D. B., Haswell-Elkins, M. R., & Anderson, R. M., (1986). The epidemiology and control of intestinal helminths in the Pulicat Lake region of Southern India. I. Study design and pre- and post-treatment observations on Ascaris lumbricoides infection. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 80, 774–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elkins, D. B., Haswell-Elkins, M. R., & Anderson, R. M., (1988). The importance of host age and sex to patterns of reinfection with Ascaris lumbricoides following mass anthelmintic treatment in a South Indian fishing community. Parasitology 96, 171–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, A., (1982). Intestinal helminths of man: interpretation of egg counts. Parasitology 85, 605–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haswell-Elkins, M. R., Elkins, D. B., & Anderson, R. M., (1987). Evidence for predisposition in humans to infection with Ascaris, hookworm, Enterobius and Trichuris in a South Indian fishing community. Parasitology 95, 323–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, R. B., (1926 a). Hookworm reinfestation for three years after treatment in a sanitated area in Porto Rico, and its bearing on permanent hookworm control in the group studied. American Journal of Hygiene 6, 103–17.Google Scholar
Hill, R. B., (1926 b). The estimation of the number of hookworms harbored by the use of the dilution egg count method. American Journal of Hygiene 6, 19–41.Google Scholar
International Health Board, Rockefeller Foundation (1922). Distribution and control of hookworm disease in India. Indian Journal of Medical Research 10, 295–342.Google Scholar
Jancloes, M. F., (1982). Mass-control of intestinal nematode infections. Tropical Doctor 12, 185–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendrick, J. F., (1934). The length of life and rate of loss of hookworms, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 14, 363–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nawalinski, T., Schad, G. A., & Chowdhury, A. B., (1978). Population biology of hookworms in children in rural West Bengal. I. General parasitological observations. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 27, 1152–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panicker, P. V. R. C., Gadkari, A. A., Kulkarni, S. W., Handa, B. K., & Joshi, M. W., (1981). Prevalence of hookworm in some villages around Nagpur. Journal of Communicable Diseases 12, 192–6.Google Scholar
Schad., G., & Anderson, R. M., (1985). Predisposition to hookworm infection in humans. Science 228, 1537–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed