Objectives: A county wide campaign of mass screening and medication for pinworm infestation control was conducted for school children in the northern Taiwan in 2001.
Methods: A total of 309,446 (response rate 95.2%) children at 215 primary schools, with parental consents, received the adhesive thin cellophane tape swab examination, 13,166 (8.2%) boys and 11,729 (7.9%) girls were found to have pinworm infestation. All the children received one dose of Mebendazole 100 mg and an additional dose two weeks after the first medication with parental consents.
Results: Approximately 6 months after the mass medication, 294,917 children received rescreening using the same method, and 442 (0.15%) were found to be positive. The reduction rates of pinworm infestation by the mass screening and medication campaign was 99.0%. The cost of medication was 300,000 New Taiwan dollars (10,000 US dollars), only 1% of annual budget spent in previous 10 years average. There were no significant differences in reduction rates between boys and girls, and among students living in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Higher graders had lower infection rate and lower reduction rate.
Conclusion: This mass screening and medication campaign is a cost-effective strategy for pinworm control and may be useful for the pinworm control in other countries and areas with high prevalence.