Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections: forging control efforts

Impact on a national helminth control programme on infection and morbidity in Ugandan schoolchildren

“…Earlier large-scale helminth control efforts typically evaluated infection indicators, often prevalence, rather than morbidity indicators, 14,15 but rarely continued due to financial problems and decreased effectiveness. Control of morbidity related to schistosome infection has received new impetus with reduced drug prices, 16 new approaches to control 17,18 and more recently, the establishment of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI). 19,20 We report the impact of repeated chemotherapy for schistosomiasis in Uganda -the first country to implement a control programme on a national scale -specifically, infection status, haemoglobin concentration and related clinical morbidity.…”

Intestinal parasitic infections and eosinophilia in an human immunedeficiency virus positive population in Honduras

“…In times when the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has caused the largest and the most devastating pandemic in the history of humankind, parasitic infections still remain one of the most prevalent types of infection in the world (Savioli et al 2002). Many of the populations at high risk for HIV also live in highly endemic areas of intestinal parasitic infections, which are mainly acquired in childhood and remain as chronic infections into adulthood (Bundy et al 2000).…”

“…The presence of individuals infected with intestinal parasites in situations of poverty, with deficient sanitary infrastructure, lack of latrines or poor use of them, overcrowding, and soil characteristics favorable for the proliferation of parasites provide conditions for the maintenance and transmission of such infections (Beaver et al 1985). According to WHO estimates, at least 2 billion people in the world suffer from helminthiasis, and, of those, approximately 300 million suffer associated severe morbidity (Savioli et al 2002). These infections represent more than 40% of the disease burden due to all tropical diseases, excluding malaria (Savioli et al 2002).…”

“…According to WHO estimates, at least 2 billion people in the world suffer from helminthiasis, and, of those, approximately 300 million suffer associated severe morbidity (Savioli et al 2002). These infections represent more than 40% of the disease burden due to all tropical diseases, excluding malaria (Savioli et al 2002). In many Latin American countries, endemic intestinal parasitosis is persistent and prevalent in people of all ages, specially the soil-transmitted helminths and the protozoa Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, and Entamoeba histolytica, with rates of infection from 10 to 50% or higher (Botero 1981, Alemán & Sousa 1991, INDRE 1994.…”

“…The morbidity associated with such infections includes a wide range of abdominal complications, including malnutrition, chronic anemia, and dysenteric syndrome, all of which affect growth, development, and cognitive capacity in children, as well as work productivity in adults (Beaver et al 1985, Guyatt 2000, Savioli et al 2002. In many cases, the magnitude of these distortions has been found to be largely proportional to the worm burden (Beaver et al 1985, Nokes et al 1992.…”