1. Introduction
Albendazole and mebendazole is known to be efficacious
for the treatment of Ascaris lumbricoides (A. lumbricoides)[1].
In spite of its high efficacy, there were concerns of the
emergence of drug resistance with these agents in human
and animals from Africa and Southern America[1-3]. So
far, there is no report of drug resistance of albendazole or
mebendazole for the treatment of A. lumbricoides from Asia.
In spite of the lack of reported drug resistance, this issue in
Asia remains unclear. An investigation to find out whether
drug resistance exists in this region is therefore essential.
Demographic similarities that all the regions share such as
the tropical climate, lower standards of hygiene and nutrition
should alert physicians in Asia for the possibility of drug
resistance. This aspect is thus important as A. lumbricoides
mostly affects school-age children. North-Western
Indonesia where the island of Sumatera lies is very close to
the main continent of Asia was chosen as a good target area
to perform this study.
Therefore, this study was done to investigate if drug
resistance towards albendazole and mebendazole for the
treatment of A. lumbricoides is present in this region. The
project was not only designed to study the drug efficacy in
relation to the possible drug resistance but also to further
study the drug effectiveness in sterilizing A. lumbricoides eggs.
Both drug efficacy and drug effectiveness are important
factors in relation to the prevention and eradication of the
helminth.