Clinical Trial: Veron Scabies Education and Eradication Program

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Veron Scabies Education and Eradication Program

Brief Summary: The purpose of this project is to develop a community scabies eradication and education program for the highly endemic areas surrounding the Veron community on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic. It proposes the use of oral Ivermectin as a replacement for topical Lindane--a readily available medical formulation, pesticide, and environmental toxin that is reported to be banned in the Dominican Republic as well as over 80 other countries throughout the world.

Detailed Summary:

Introduction

The Secretaría de Estado de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social public health clinic in Veron, Dominican Republic continually reports a subjectively high prevalence and incidence of scabies infections among its general patient population without any means of direct measurement, proper intervention, or control, raising concerns that long-term infestation may lead to multiple other secondary medical and environmental problems.

The purpose of this project is to develop a community scabies eradication and education program for the highly endemic areas surrounding the Veron community. It proposes the use of oral Ivermectin as a replacement for topical Lindane, a readily available and prescribed pesticide and environmental toxin that is reportedly banned for all uses in the Dominican Republic as well as over 80 other countries throughout the world (Boffa, Brough, & Ead, 1995; Davies, Dedhia, Mergade, Banquet, & Maibach, 1983).

Ivermectin, on the other hand, is a remarkably safe, effective, cost-comparative oral medication with a substantially broader scope of coverage, duration of effectiveness, and ease of delivery and compliance when compared to Lindane, as well as over 20 years of use in global mass eradication campaigns for other parasites on the order of more than 50 million doses to date (Alexander, Bockarie, Kastens, Kazra, & Alpers, 1998; del Guidice, Chosidow, & Caumes, 2003; Madan, Jaskiran, Gupta, & Gupta, 2001).

Specific program goals include: the quantification of community disease prevalence, a statistically significant reduction in both scabies incidence as well as secondary disease sequelae, improved community scabies awareness and prevention abilities, and decreased environ
Sponsor: Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Current Primary Outcome: Scabies incidence [ Time Frame: monthly ]

Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

  • Scabies-induced skin abscess incidence [ Time Frame: monthly ]
  • Incidence of Lindane prescription and use [ Time Frame: monthly ]
  • Incidence of Ivermectin prescription and use [ Time Frame: monthly ]
  • Scabies disease, treatment, and prevention awareness [ Time Frame: monthly ]


Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

Information By: Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dates:
Date Received: January 16, 2008
Date Started: May 2007
Date Completion:
Last Updated: March 9, 2009
Last Verified: March 2009