Mass Ivermectin Administration Reduces Incidence Of Malaria Compared With Albendazole Among Children Ages 5 To 15 Years, Trial Finds

MedPage Today (7/29, Rudd) reports, “Mass ivermectin administration in areas with widespread community use of insecticidal bed netting reduced the incidence of malaria compared with albendazole among children ages 5 to 15 years, a cluster-randomized trial in coastal Kenya showed.” Researchers found that “among a total of 84 clusters including nearly 29,000 participants, the incidence of malaria infection was 2.20 per child-year at risk in the ivermectin group and 2.66 per child-year at risk in the albendazole group at 6 months.” Study results indicate that “the incidence of serious adverse events per 100 treatments administered did not differ significantly between the two groups.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.