02092nas a2200349   4500000000100000008004100001653001600042653001700058653000900075653002300084653001600107653001100123653001100134653001800145653002100163653001000184653001800194653001200212653001000224653001000234653001500244100001500259700002100274700001400295700001500309245008500324856008100409300000800490490000600498520122400504022001401728       2014                            d10aYoung Adult10aTime Factors10aSoil10aModels, Biological10aMiddle Aged10aInfant10aHumans10aHelminthiasis10aChild, Preschool10aChild10aAnthelmintics10aAnimals10aAging10aAdult10aAdolescent1 aTruscott J1 aHollingsworth DT1 aBrooker S1 aAnderson R00aCan chemotherapy alone eliminate the transmission of soil transmitted helminths?  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4079919/pdf/1756-3305-7-266.pdf  a2660 v73 a<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Amongst the world's poorest populations, availability of anthelmintic treatments for the control of soil transmitted helminths (STH) by mass or targeted chemotherapy has increased dramatically in recent years. However, the design of community based treatment programmes to achieve the greatest impact on transmission is still open to debate. Questions include: who should be treated, how often should they be treated, how long should treatment be continued for?</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Simulation and analysis of a dynamic transmission model and novel data analyses suggest refinements of the World Health Organization guidelines for the community based treatment of STH.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>This analysis shows that treatment levels and frequency must be much higher, and the breadth of coverage across age classes broader than is typically the current practice, if transmission is to be interrupted by mass chemotherapy alone.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>When planning interventions to reduce transmission, rather than purely to reduce morbidity, current school-based interventions are unlikely to be enough to achieve the desired results.</p>
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