부산대학교 도서관

Preventive chemotherapy interventions for the control of soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) and schistosomiasis scaled up from a global coverage level of around 5% in the year 2000 to a coverage that surpassed 60% in the year 2019. The present paper analyses the concomitant reduction in the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to STH and schistosomiasis during the same period, from 6.3 to 3.5 million DALYs. The cumulative gain during the 19-year period was estimated at over 26 million DALYs. Given the low cost of the intervention, our study suggests that deworming for STH and schistosomiasis is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions. Author summary: Schistosomiasis and intestinal parasites cause significant morbidity and, in endemic countries, WHO recommends the implementation of periodical large scale distribution of anthelminthic drugs (deworming) for the control of the morbidity due to these infections. Deworming significantly scaled up from the year 2000 to 2019 reaching the majority of children at risk, as a consequence the number of infected individuals and the severity of the infections has been significantly reduced. This is reflected on the significant reduction of number of DALYs lost in the last two decades for these two infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]