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The soil-transmitted helminths (also called geohelminths) are a group of intestinal parasites belonging to the phylum Nematoda that are transmitted primarily through contaminated soil. They are so called because they have a direct life cycle which requires no intermediate hosts or vectors , and the parasitic infection occurs through faecal ...
The World Health Organization estimates that globally more than 1.5 billion people (24% of the total population) have a soil-transmitted helminth infection. [2] Over 270 million preschool-age children and over 600 million school-age children live in areas where these parasites are intensively transmitted, and need treatment and preventive ...
Another source estimated a much higher figure of 3.5 billion infected with one or more soil-transmitted helminths. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] In 2014, only 148 people were reported to have dracunculiasis because of a successful eradication campaign for that particular helminth, which is easier to eradicate than other helminths as it is transmitted only by ...
Some types of helminths and protozoa are classified as intestinal parasites that cause infection—those that reside in the intestines. These infections can damage or sicken the host (humans or other animals). If the intestinal parasite infection is caused by helminths, the infection is called helminthiasis.
Due to this strong shell, helminth eggs or ova remain viable in soil, fresh water and sewage for many months. In feces, fecal sludge and sewage sludge they can even remain viable for several years. [16] [17] Helminth eggs of concern in wastewater used for irrigation have a size between 20 and 90 μm and a relative density of 1.06–1.23. [18]
About 0.8 to 1.2 billion people globally have ascariasis, with the most heavily affected populations being in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia. [1] [10] [11] This makes ascariasis the most common form of soil-transmitted helminthiasis. [10] As of 2010 it caused about 2,700 deaths a year, down from 3,400 in 1990. [12]
Despite under-funding, treatment and prevention of many neglected diseases is cost-effective. The cost of treating a child for infection of soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomes (some of the main causes of neglected diseases) is less than US$0.50 per year when administered as part of school-based mass deworming by Deworm the World.
For example, one study in Senegal showed that the risk of clinical malaria infection was increased in helminth-infected children in comparison to helminth-free children while other studies have failed to reproduce such results, [58] and even among laboratory mouse experiments the effect of helminths on malaria is variable.