Predicted short and long-term impact of deworming and water, hygiene, and sanitation on transmission of soil-transmitted helminths.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Regular preventive chemotherapy (PCT) targeting high-risk populations is an effective way to control STH in the short term, but sustainable long-term STH control is expected to require improved access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). However, experimental studies have not been able to conclusively demonstrate the benefit of WASH in preventing STH (re-)infections. We investigated the impact of WASH on STH infections during and after PCT using mathematical modelling.

Methods and findings

We use the individual-based transmission model WORMSIM to predict the short and long-term impact of WASH on STH transmission in contexts with and without PCT. We distinguish two WASH modalities: sanitation, which reduces individuals' contributions to environmental contamina

SUBMITTER: Coffeng LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6283645 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature