BMJ  2007;334:1180 (9 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.39234.444259.3A

Letters

Anaemia in developing countries

Mass iron treatment is cheaper than routine deworming

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Gulani et al say that routine administration of intestinal anthelmintic agents results in a marginal increase in haemoglobin (1.71 g/l).1 What needs to be considered is whether this approach of mass anthelmintic therapy is actually economically feasible, especially in third world countries where iron deficiency anaemia is a major health issue.2 This needs special consideration, given the fact that the primary cause of anaemia in third world countries is dietary malnutrition rather than intestinal infestation with helminths.3

A better and more economically feasible approach to thwart the "epidemic" of anaemia might be mass supplementation with iron supplements such as oral ferrous sulphate.4 The average cost of mebendazole treatment (100 mg three times a day for three days) is £15. According to Gulani et al, this regimen increases haemoglobin by 1.7 g/l. On the other hand, ferrous sulphate at a dose of 325 mg three times a day will increase haemoglobin . . . [Full text of this article]

Shailendra Kapoor, resident physician

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Schaumburg, IL, 60195, USA

shailendrakapoor@yahoo.com


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Relevant Article

Effect of administration of intestinal anthelmintic drugs on haemoglobin: systematic review of randomised controlled trials
Anjana Gulani, Jitender Nagpal, Clive Osmond, and H P S Sachdev
BMJ 2007 334: 1095. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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