Preventive Chemotherapy in Human Helminthiasis


Book Description

This manual focuses on how and when a set of low-cost or free drugs should be used in developing countries to control a set of diseases caused by worm infections. Preventive chemotherapy in this context means using drugs that are effective against a broad range of worm infections to simultaneously treat the four most common diseases caused by worms: river blindness (onchocerciasis), elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis), schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis. Significant opportunities also exist to integrate these efforts with the prevention and control of diseases such as trachoma. The new approach provides a critical first step in combining treatment regimens for diseases which, although different in themselves, require common resources and delivery strategies for control or elimination.




Helminth Control in School-Age Children


Book Description

More than 2000 million people worldwide are affected by schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections and 155 000 deaths are reported each year. These infections are diseases associated with poverty, and in school-age populations in developing countries, intestinal helminth infections rank first among the causes of all communicable and noncommunicable diseases. This book describes a cost-effective approach to the control of these infections, based on the use of periodic parasitological surveys of school population samples. It is intended as a guide for health education managers responsible for implementing community-based programmes.







Controlling Disease Due to Helminth Infections


Book Description

Helminth infections are caused by parasitic worms (including tapeworms and roundworms). These diseases are associated with poverty, and in school-age populations in developing countries, intestinal helminth infections rank first among the causes of all communicable and noncommunicable diseases. This book is based on papers presented at an OECD conference, held in Bali, Indonesia in February 2000, which sought to review activities for the control of diseases due to soil-transmitted helminth infections in Indonesia and neighbouring countries.




Bench Aids for the Diagnosis of Intestinal Parasites


Book Description

A set of nine A-4 color plates with 118 photomicrographs illustrating the appearance and diagnostic features of all the common intestinal helminths and protozoan parasites known to infect humans. Produced in a robust plasticized format, the plates can be used as either a guide for laboratory and field workers in endemic countries, or a teaching aid for students and trainees. The aim is to help the microscopist ascertain the presence of parasites in feces, whether they be minute protozoan cysts or large helminth eggs, and to identify them correctly. With this goal in mind, the bench aids include pertinent laboratory instructions as well as high-quality images. The photomicrographs illustrate diagnostic features of each of the parasites as they appear in different preparations and at different magnifications. Each photomicrograph is produced with a measuring bar and accompanied by a short explanatory legend, which draws attention to distinctive features that help confirm diagnosis. Helminth eggs are illustrated in the first 36 photomicrographs, which show the diagnostic stages of the most common helminthes, including nematodes, cestodes, schistosomes, and other trematodes. The remaining photomicrographs offer advice on the more difficult task of detecting and identifying intestinal protozoan trophozoites and cysts. Relevant laboratory techniques are described on the reverse side of the plates. Additional laboratory aids include dichotomous keys for the identification of amoebic trophozoites trophozoites of intestinal flagellates, and cysts of amoebae and flagellates.







Ascaris


Book Description

This book tackles a number of different perspectives concerning the parasitic helminth Ascaris, both in animals and in humans and the disease known as ascariasis. It seeks to identify interesting, exciting and novel aspects, which will interest readers from a broad range of disciplines.Over a quarter of the world's population are infected with the human roundworm, and the equivalent in pigs is equally ubiquitous. Both contribute to insidious and chronic nutritional morbidity, and this has been quantified, in humans, as disability adjusted life years approximating 10.5 million. Ascaris larvae develop in host parenteral tissues, and the resultant pathology has been condemnation. Ascariasis, despite its staggering global prevalence and the sheer numbers of people it infects, remains a classic neglected disease. However, renewed interest in the consequences of early infection with worms from the perspective of immune modulation, co-infections and the development of allergy further enhances the relevance of these parasites. - Brings together a wide range of topics and approaches and recent, comprehensive and progressive research concerning the neglected parasite Ascaris - Provides a blueprint of how a single parasite entity can stimulate interest in basic biology, clinical science, veterinary science, public health and epidemiology - Presents a wealth of new insights given that a book on this parasite has not been published for over 20 years - 16 chapters from a range of top authors from around the world




Handbook of Helminthiasis for Public Health


Book Description

Written by internationally respected experts, Handbook of Human Helminthiasis provides information essential in the development of an integrated approach to the prevention, control and treatment of disease caused by endoparasitic helminths. The text is divided into sections dealing with the main groups of helminth infections and the diseases they i




Investing to Overcome the Global Impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases


Book Description

"The presence, or absence, of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can be seen as a proxy for poverty and for the success of interventions aimed at reducing poverty. Today, coverage of the public-health interventions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) against NTDs may be interpreted as a proxy for universal health coverage and shared prosperity - in short, a proxy for coverage against neglect. As the world's focus shifts from development to sustainable development, from poverty eradication to shared prosperity, and from disease-specific goals to universal health coverage, control of NTDs will assume an important role towards the target of achieving universal health coverage, including individual financial risk protection. Success in overcoming NTDs is a "litmus test" for universal health coverage against NTDs in endemic countries. The first WHO report on NTDs (2010) set the scene by presenting the evidence for how these interventions had produced results. The second report (2013) assessed the progress made in deploying them and detailed the obstacles to their implementation. This third report analyses for the first time the investments needed to achieve the scale up of implementation required to achieve the targets of the WHO Roadmap on NTDs and universal coverage against NTDs. INVESTING TO OVERCOME THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES presents an investment strategy for NTDs and analyses the specific investment case for prevention, control, elimination and eradication of 12 of the 17 NTDs. Such an analysis is justified following the adoption by the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly in 2013 of resolution WHA6612 on neglected tropical diseases, which called for sufficient and predictable funding to achieve the Roadmap's targets and sustain control efforts. The report cautions, however, that it is wise investment and not investment alone that will yield success. The report registers progress and challenges and signals those that lie ahead. Climate change is expected to increase the spread of several vector-borne NTDs, notably dengue, transmission of which is directly influenced by temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and climate variability primarily through their effects on the vector. Investments in vector-borne diseases will avoid the potentially catastrophic expenditures associated with their control. The presence of NTDs will thereby signal an early warning system for climate-sensitive diseases. The ultimate goal is to deliver enhanced and equitable interventions to the most marginalized populations in the context of a changing public-health and investment landscape to ensure that all peoples affected by NTDs have an opportunity to lead healthier and wealthier lives."--Publisher's description.