High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic Resistance
Introduction: Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are gastrointestinal parasites widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. Mass drug administration (MDA) of benzimidazoles (BZ) is the most recommended for STH control. These drugs have demonstrated limited efficacy against <i>Trichuri...
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doaj-0765dd64a28f486080b255c4ab4b81632020-11-24T22:05:44ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662019-04-01427310.3390/tropicalmed4020073tropicalmed4020073High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic ResistanceGabriela Matamoros0María Mercedes Rueda1Carol Rodríguez2Jose A. Gabrie3Maritza Canales4Gustavo Fontecha5Ana Sanchez6Department of Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, CanadaInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, HondurasInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, HondurasDepartment of Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, CanadaInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, HondurasInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, HondurasDepartment of Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, CanadaIntroduction: Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are gastrointestinal parasites widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. Mass drug administration (MDA) of benzimidazoles (BZ) is the most recommended for STH control. These drugs have demonstrated limited efficacy against <i>Trichuris trichiura</i> and the long-term use of single-dose BZ has raised concerns of the possible emergence of genetic resistance. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether genetic mutations associated with BZ resistance were present in STH species circulating in an endemic region of Honduras. Methods: A parasitological survey was performed as part of this study, the Kato−Katz technique was used to determine STH prevalence in children of La Hicaca, Honduras. A subgroup of children received anthelminthic treatment in order to recover adult parasite specimens that were analyzed through molecular biology techniques. Genetic regions containing codons 200, 198, and 167 of the β-tubulin gene of <i>Ascaris lumbricoides</i> and <i>Trichuris trichiura</i> were amplified and sequenced. Results: Stool samples were collected from 106 children. The overall STH prevalence was 75.47%, whereby <i>T. trichiura</i> was the most prevalent helminth (56.6%), followed by <i>A. lumbricoides</i> (17%), and hookworms (1.9%). Eighty-five sequences were generated for adjacent regions to codons 167, 198, and 200 of the β-tubulin gene of <i>T. trichiura</i> and <i>A. lumbricoides</i> specimens. The three codons of interest were found to be monomorphic in all the specimens. Conclusion: Although the inability to find single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the small sample analyzed for the present report does not exclude the possibility of their occurrence, these results suggest that, at present, Honduras’s challenges in STH control may not be related to drug resistance but to environmental conditions and/or host factors permitting reinfections.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/4/2/73soil-transmitted helminthsanthelminthic resistancebenzimidazolesingle nucleotide polymorphismsmass drug administrationHonduras |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Gabriela Matamoros María Mercedes Rueda Carol Rodríguez Jose A. Gabrie Maritza Canales Gustavo Fontecha Ana Sanchez |
spellingShingle |
Gabriela Matamoros María Mercedes Rueda Carol Rodríguez Jose A. Gabrie Maritza Canales Gustavo Fontecha Ana Sanchez High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic Resistance Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease soil-transmitted helminths anthelminthic resistance benzimidazole single nucleotide polymorphisms mass drug administration Honduras |
author_facet |
Gabriela Matamoros María Mercedes Rueda Carol Rodríguez Jose A. Gabrie Maritza Canales Gustavo Fontecha Ana Sanchez |
author_sort |
Gabriela Matamoros |
title |
High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic Resistance |
title_short |
High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic Resistance |
title_full |
High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic Resistance |
title_fullStr |
High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic Resistance |
title_full_unstemmed |
High Endemicity of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in a Population Frequently Exposed to Albendazole but No Evidence of Antiparasitic Resistance |
title_sort |
high endemicity of soil-transmitted helminths in a population frequently exposed to albendazole but no evidence of antiparasitic resistance |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
issn |
2414-6366 |
publishDate |
2019-04-01 |
description |
Introduction: Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are gastrointestinal parasites widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. Mass drug administration (MDA) of benzimidazoles (BZ) is the most recommended for STH control. These drugs have demonstrated limited efficacy against <i>Trichuris trichiura</i> and the long-term use of single-dose BZ has raised concerns of the possible emergence of genetic resistance. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether genetic mutations associated with BZ resistance were present in STH species circulating in an endemic region of Honduras. Methods: A parasitological survey was performed as part of this study, the Kato−Katz technique was used to determine STH prevalence in children of La Hicaca, Honduras. A subgroup of children received anthelminthic treatment in order to recover adult parasite specimens that were analyzed through molecular biology techniques. Genetic regions containing codons 200, 198, and 167 of the β-tubulin gene of <i>Ascaris lumbricoides</i> and <i>Trichuris trichiura</i> were amplified and sequenced. Results: Stool samples were collected from 106 children. The overall STH prevalence was 75.47%, whereby <i>T. trichiura</i> was the most prevalent helminth (56.6%), followed by <i>A. lumbricoides</i> (17%), and hookworms (1.9%). Eighty-five sequences were generated for adjacent regions to codons 167, 198, and 200 of the β-tubulin gene of <i>T. trichiura</i> and <i>A. lumbricoides</i> specimens. The three codons of interest were found to be monomorphic in all the specimens. Conclusion: Although the inability to find single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the small sample analyzed for the present report does not exclude the possibility of their occurrence, these results suggest that, at present, Honduras’s challenges in STH control may not be related to drug resistance but to environmental conditions and/or host factors permitting reinfections. |
topic |
soil-transmitted helminths anthelminthic resistance benzimidazole single nucleotide polymorphisms mass drug administration Honduras |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/4/2/73 |
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