Prevalence of intestinal helminthes and effect of anthelmintic treatment among rural residents in Shandong province

Objective To examine the prevalence of intestinal helminthes and the effects mass anthelmintic administration among rural residents in Shandong province and to provide evidences for implementing control measures for the diseases.Methods Totally 34384 permanent rural residents aged ≥3 years were recruited with cluster sampling from 34 municipalities, districts or counties for a survey on intestinal helminthes infection with modified Kato-Katz method and cellophane anal swab.Mass administration of albendazol was conducted in the residents living in the counties with an intestinal helminthes infection rate of ≥20% and then the treatment outcome was evaluated.Results The overall intestinal helminthes infection rate was 3.51%(1207/34384), and the infection rates were 2.57%(884/34384) for whipworm, 0.49%(168/34384) for roundworm, 0.1%(38/34384) for hookworm, 0.01%(3/34384) for Clonorchis sinensis, and 3.27%(165/5047) for pinworm among the residents aged 3-12 years, respectively.After the mass administration of albendazol, the overall infection rate of soil-borne nematodes decreased by 64.48% among the 1.41 millions participants in a municipality and a county.Conclusion There are significant decreases in the number of parasites, infection rate and intensity, multiple infection of intestinal helminthes and mass administration of albendazol for the control of soil-borne nematodes infection achieved remarkable outcome among the rural residents in Shandong province.