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EFFICACY OF SINGLE-DOSE DIETHYLCARBAMAZINE COMPARED WITH DIETHYLCARBAMAZINE COMBINED WITH ALBENDAZOLE AGAINST WUCHERERIA BANCROFTI INFECTION IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

The efficacy of diethylcarbamazine alone was compared with diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole in residents of an island in Papua New Guinea endemic for Wuchereria bancrofti. There was no statistically significant difference between the two drug regimens in decreasing the microfilaria positive rate at 12 and 24 months after a single-dose treatment with either regimen, e.g., 50.0% clearance of microfilaria at 24 months for diethylcarbamazine alone versus 65.7% clearance of microfilaria for diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole (P > 0.05). In contrast, diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole resulted in a significant decrease in Og4C3 antigen prevalence (17%; P = 0.003) at 24 months whereas diethylcarbamazine did not (10%; P = 0.564). These data showed no statistically significant difference in the efficacy of the two drug regimens in lowering the microfilaria reservoir, but they support the use of diethylcarbamazine combined with albendazole in mass treatment programs on the basis of greater activity against adult worms.

Received July 21, 2006. Accepted for publication September 15, 2006.

Acknowledgments: We thank the people of Bagabag who generously agreed to participate in this study, and staff of the Lutheran Health Centre on Bagabag Island for their dedicated support in this project.

Financial support: This study was supported by World Health Organization/CTD grant no. CTD/FIL/F3/181/145 and World Health Organization grant HQ/98/700832 F30/181/145.

^* Address correspondence to Moses J. Bockarie, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Wolstein Research Building, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7286. E-mail: moses.bockarie{at}case.edu

Authors’ addresses: Moses J. Bockarie, Fred Hazlett, Daniel J. Tisch, and James W. Kazura, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Livingstone Tavul, Irvin Ibam, and Will Kastens, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang, Papua New Guinea. Michael P. Alpers, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia.

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