Dwarf tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana): Characteristics in the Northern Territory 2002–2013

E-ISSN： 1440-1754|51|10|982-987

ISSN： 1034-4810

Source： JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Vol.51, Iss.10, 2015-10, pp. : 982-987

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Abstract

AimReview of dwarf tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana) presentations to Northern Territory (NT) Government health‐care facilities over 12 years. We postulated H. nana infections would remain unchanged despite the introduction of deworming programmes as H. nana is not eradicated with albendazole treatment.MethodsA retrospective observational analysis of consecutive microbiologically confirmed cases of H. nana identified by NT Government health‐care facilities between 2002 and 2013.ResultsFour hundred sixty‐one episodes of H. nana infection were identified over the 12‐year period from 68 387 faecal samples. Infections were overwhelmingly in young children with a median age of patients being 3.0 years (interquartile range 2.25–4.67). Patients were predominantly Indigenous (98.9%, P = 0.001) and infections occurred across the entire NT. Infections were associated with anaemia (18.2%) and eosinophilia (39.6%). The annual prevalence of NT Government health‐care facility diagnosed H. nana infection remains relatively constant from 6.9 {4.8–9.0 (confidence interval (CI))} cases per 10 000 Indigenous population in 2002, compared with 6.6 (4.7–8.4 CI) cases per 10 000 Indigenous population in 2013. Infection rates in Indigenous children <5 years of age were: 46.1 (16.4–75.8 CI) cases/10 000 in 2002, compared with 44.3 (15.3–73.3 CI) cases/10 000 Indigenous population in 2013.ConclusionH. nana is the most frequently identified cestode (tapeworm) in NT Government health‐care facilities. H. nana remains endemic throughout the NT, predominantly infecting Indigenous children less than 5 years of age.