Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
10:57
Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
Published on: August 22, 2012
Integrated programme for control of geohelminths: a perspective
1Vector Control Research Center (Indian Council of Medical Research), Medical Complex, Indira Nagar, Pondicherry, 605006, India. mosquito@md5.vsnl.net.in
The National Medical Journal of India
|July 27, 2001
Summary
Geohelminth infections pose a significant public health challenge, especially for school-aged children in India. Integrating deworming programs with existing health initiatives like school meal programs offers a cost-effective strategy to combat worm infestation and improve community health.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Geohelminth infections are a major public health concern in developing nations, particularly impacting school-aged children.
- Intestinal helminthiasis contributes to malnutrition, anemia, growth retardation, and impaired cognitive development in affected children.
- Chemotherapy for school-aged children is a recommended, cost-effective approach for geohelminth control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the integration of geohelminth control programs with existing national health initiatives.
- To assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of integrating geohelminth control with other programs.
- To identify optimal strategies for controlling geohelminths and reducing associated morbidity.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on geohelminth control strategies.
- Analysis of potential integration points with national health programs, such as mid-day meal and anemia prophylaxis programs.
- Evaluation of drug properties and co-administration challenges, specifically diethyl carbamazine (DEC) and albendazole.
Main Results:
- Geohelminth control programs can be optimized by integrating with existing health initiatives.
- Integrating with the mid-day meal or anemia prophylaxis programs is proposed as a more appropriate and cost-effective strategy.
- Co-administration of DEC and albendazole presents challenges regarding frequency, efficacy, compliance, and cost-effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- Integrating geohelminth control programs with school meal or anemia prophylaxis programs is a practical and cost-effective approach.
- Such integration can effectively alleviate morbidity caused by geohelminths and enhance overall community health.
- This strategy offers a sustainable solution for managing geohelminth infections in endemic regions.
More Related Videos
12:40Cultivation of Heligmosomoides Polygyrus: An Immunomodulatory Nematode Parasite and its Secreted Products
Published on: April 6, 2015
04:57Comparative Analysis of Automatic Fecal Analyzer versus Direct Wet Smear Microscopy for Detecting Parasitic Infections in Stool Samples
Published on: April 25, 2025
Related Concept Videos
01:29Malaria
Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
01:28Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
01:12Giardiasis
Giardiasis is a globally prevalent intestinal infection caused by the protozoan parasite Giardia duodenalis (also known as G. lamblia or G. intestinalis). This flagellated protozoan is the most frequently identified intestinal parasite in the United States and worldwide. Transmission primarily occurs via the fecal-oral route, with infection arising from ingestion of water or food contaminated with cysts. Individuals in low-resource settings, international travelers, outdoor enthusiasts, daycare...
01:28Amebiasis
Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite, is responsible for intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. Though a significant proportion of infections remain asymptomatic, approximately 50 million individuals annually are estimated to present with clinical disease, resulting in up to 100,000 deaths globally. The disease burden is disproportionately high in regions with lower socioeconomic status, such as parts of India, Africa, Mexico, and Latin America.Etiology and TransmissionThe infective...
01:15Anthelminthic Agents
Anthelmintic drugs differ significantly from antiparasitic therapies targeting protozoa, primarily due to differences in parasite biology. Whereas most protozoal treatments act on proliferating cells, anthelmintics are typically directed against mature, nonproliferative helminths. The therapeutic approach considers the helminth's reliance on neuromuscular coordination, glucose metabolism, and microtubular integrity for survival, reproduction, and localization within the host. Most anthelmintics...
01:21Antiprotozoal Agents
Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by several Leishmania species. It affects millions of people each year and remains a major public health problem in endemic regions. First-line treatment relies on pentavalent antimonials, including meglumine antimoniate and sodium stibogluconate. Even so, how these drugs work has not been fully clear, especially their interaction with parasite-specific biochemical pathways. One key target is trypanothione reductase (TR), an enzyme that...