New Delhi. All school going children should be given a single dose of albendazole (400 mg). It is effective in almost 100 percent of cases of worm infestations including round worm and hookworms, said Dr K K Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India.

The cure rate of round worm infection is 97.4% and egg reduction after treatment is 99.9%. The cure rate for hookworm infection is 93.1% with 96.6% egg reduction.

The drug needs to be repeated every four months as the reinfection rate at 4 months after treatment is 54.5% and 10.3% for round worm and hookworm infection, respectively.

Four-monthly targeted periodic treatments with 400 mg single-dose albendazole in highly endemic areas can have a significant impact on intensity of round worm and hookworm infection.

Although round worm infection occurs at all ages, it is most common in children 2 to 10 years old, and prevalence decreases over the age of 15 years. Infections tend to cluster in families, and worm burden correlates with the number of people living in a home.

Mass treatments with single dose albendazole or mebendazole for all school-age children every three to four months have been used in some communities. This serves the dual function of treating children and reducing the overall worm burden in the community.

In a large randomized trial of school-based deworming performed in Zanzibar, single dose mebendazole, given either twice or three times a year, decreased intensity of round worm infection by 63 and 97 percent, respectively, compared to control children who received no mebendazole.