L Savioli

..Finally, the strategy, targets and recommendations of the World Health Organization for the control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted nematodes infection are described...

..There is need for increased support for schistosomiasis control in the most severely affected countries...

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..A bathroom-type scale performed better than the dose pole in delivering the optimal dose (40-60 mg/kg) and the 2 methods performed similarly in delivering a dose considered appropriate (30-60 mg/kg)...

..Managers of control programmes are invited to test this method adapting it in their particular and cultural environment...

..In more than 98% of the cases the indicated dose was within the range that has proven efficacious and safe (30 and 60 mg/kg)...

..There were no significant differences between the results from the urban area and those from the rural area. The observations are important in the planning of control activities...

..Related to this new vision, some research needs are pointed out...

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..This paper reviews the policy rationale for disease control in the WHO South-East Asia Region, the progress made so far, the lessons learnt along the way, and the remaining challenges and opportunities...

..Reproducing the present pole in the form of a strip of paper and including it in each container of praziquantel would greatly facilitate the administration of the drug in large-scale interventions...

..Measuring the effect of such integrated control is likely to reveal the real impact of tropical diseases on human health and wellbeing...

..A crude calculation of the expenditure to buy and deliver the drugs, including the costs incurred in the teacher training, concluded that the cost per child was approximately 0.05 USD...

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..In light of the potential nutritional benefit achieved by regular deworming in this young age-group, the policy that excludes children aged < 24 months from treatment should be re-considered...

..Further testing with other staff in other settings is recommended to determine the usefulness of large-scale distribution...

..Our current state of knowledge of Giardia and Cryptosporidium is summarized here, and some important questions are raised that need to be addressed if control strategies are to be effective...

..The programme can be seen as a model for other developing countries, even where health and socioeconomic conditions are different and the control of parasitic infections will need a much longer-term commitment...

..Commitment of both national and local authorities to control the disease needs to be convincingly solicited and, as for most zoonotic diseases, an interdisciplinary approach is essential...

..The way forward for the control of soil-transmitted helminth infections is described as a multi-disease approach that goes beyond deworming and fosters a pro-poor strategy that supports the aims of the Millennium Development Goals...

..This study shows that the cost effectiveness of drugs used in mass deworming campaigns should not be inferred on the basis of a single quality testing parameter...

..We hypothesize that incident helminth infections may stimulate inflammatory immune responses in young children, with deleterious effects on protein metabolism and erythropoiesis...

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..A concerted action with international partners and the creation of a network of scientists to address this issue is the next pressing public health issue for helminth control...

..On the basis of the experience gained by the Behera School Health Programme a number of operational recommendations are formulated...

..4%, while at 10 and 11 months of age the mean prevalence was 43.4%. Village prevalence varied from 3.6% to 43.8%. Infant geohelminth infection can occur at a high prevalence, and what method is best depends on research specifics...

..However, ED(50) values for strains isolated from Mafia island, an area never exposed to BZ treatment were lower than for Pemba, suggesting lowered sensitivity of hookworm eggs recovered from Pembian children towards BZ...

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..We conclude that in this environment of high malaria transmission, daily oral low-dose supplementation of iron for 12 mo did not affect the prevalence of malaria infection or parasite density...

..Interestingly, the relationships of schistosomiasis prevalences and intensities with sex and age follow patterns similar to those found in fascioliasis...