A study of the effectiveness of mebendazole and pyrantel pamoate as a combination anthelmintic in Papua New Guinean children.

A mixture of 150 mg mebendazole and 30mg pyrantel pamoate was given on 3 consecutive or near-consecutive days to 70 children infected with one or more of Necator americanus, Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, S. fuelleborni-like and Trichuris trichiura. This treatment had an efficacy of 95 per cent for N. americanus infections, 100 per cent for A. lumbricoides, 57 per cent for Strongyloides spp., and 75 per cent for T. trichiura. The results indicate that the treatment given is effective against the infections of N. americanus and A. lumbricoides but is only partially effective for Strongyloides and T. trichiura infections.