ABSTRACT
Forty-six school children with japonicum schistosomiasis living in a village at Napu Valley, Indonesia were treated with praziquantel at a dosage of 70 mg/kg in two divided doses in a day. The number of children with palpable liver dropped significantly from 95.6% before treatment to 58.7% after treatment. The size of the liver was reduced in the majority of cases with a virtual disappearance of cases with very large liver (10 cm). Post-treatment increase of the liver size was observed in all 8 cases with small pre-treatment livers (0.5-1 cm). In contrast to the changes of the size of the liver after treatment, the number of children with palpable spleens before and after treatment was not significantly altered.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Hepatomegaly/complications , Humans , Indonesia , Male , Praziquantel/therapeutic use , Schistosomiasis japonica/complications , Splenomegaly/complicationsABSTRACT
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.