The epidemiological implications of a multiple-infection approach to the control of human helminth infections

It has been suggested that there is economic advantage in using a single community therapy programme to deliver multiple treatments against several parasitic infections. This preliminary study estimates the occurrence of concurrent helminth infection in Africa and Brazil to determine whether such an approach is justified epidemiologically. The results indicate that the occurrence of geohelminthiasis with schistosomiasis is sufficiently frequent in some areas of both Africa and Brazil for a combined approach to control to be appropriate, but that the relatively low frequency of occurrence of onchocerciasis with other infections would justify a multi-infection approach to control at specific foci only.