Fortification of Carica papaya fruit seeds to school meal snacks may aid Africa mass deworming programs: a preliminary survey.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Soil transmitted helminths (STHs) are among the world's neglected tropical diseases. Morbidity due to STHs is greatest in school-age children who typically have the highest burden of infection. In 2001, WHO passed a resolution for the use of large-scale mass drug administration (MDA) to deworm vulnerable children through school based programs. Though effective, there is concern that MDA might not be sustainable over extended periods. Additionally the current MDA strategy does not consider child malnutrition, a very common malady in resource limited countries. We report a pilot evaluation of an innovation that bundles school feeding and deworming.

Methods

We designed a maize (corn) flour fortified with grounded dried papaya (Carica papaya) seeds and used it to prep

SUBMITTER: Kugo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6286506 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature