JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Intestinal nematodes: disease burden, deworming and the potential importance of co-infection.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Intestinal nematodes affect the world's poorest communities through clinical morbidity associated with heavy infection and the economic consequences of reduced productivity.

RECENT FINDINGS: There has been a significant increase in funding and global support for mass treatment programmes. Local epidemiology is necessary if these programmes are to target the most affected communities, and new mapping tools and mathematical modeling methodologies are identifying the high degree of spatial heterogeneity and the relevance of polyparasitism in estimating attributable morbidity. Recent meta-analyses have highlighted the limited evidence base for many of the claims for treatment benefit. Programme evaluations are beginning to demonstrate good outcomes, but further work is required to assess public health benefit and sustainability of these campaigns. New drugs have been identified which may be necessary to counteract resistance; vaccine studies show early promise as a potentially sustainable approach in the longer term. Research on the impact of helminths and treatment on other diseases continues, with reassuring evidence that mass treatment does not increase prevalence of allergy, and potential treatment benefit for patients with HIV. The relationship with malaria is of particular concern, and further studies are needed to assess how best to integrate control of these diseases.

SUMMARY: There has been a major scale-up of mass treatment in recent years. In this climate, it is vital that such programmes are appropriately evaluated, and that well designed controlled trials assess the role of deworming in other groups.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app