MEASUREMENT OF ASCARIS-LUMBRICOIDES INFECTION INTENSITY AND THE DYNAMICS OF EXPULSION FOLLOWING TREATMENT WITH MEBENDAZOLE

Intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides infection was measured in terms of egg counts and worm burden in children 2—10 years of age. The expulsion of A. lumbricoides with a 3-day treatment of mebendazole occurred over 8 days, beginning on the second day of treatment. Ninety-seven percent of the worms were expelled between the second and seventh days. A rapid means of estimating eggs per gram (epg) by the Kato Katz technique correlated well with the method described by Martin & Beaver (1968). In spite of apparent density dependence in egg production, A. lumbricoides egg counts correlated well with worm burdens. It is concluded that, within the context of community surveys, epg is a reasonable means of identifying heavily infected individuals and that epg can be estimated rapidly by a slight modification to the standard Kato Katz technique. © 1990, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.