The case for mass treatment of intestinal helminths in endemic areas.

Editor's Abstract:

Two articles published earlier this year in the International Journal of Epidemiology have re-ignited the debate over the World Health Organization's long-held recommendation of mass-treatment of intestinal helminths in endemic areas. In this note, we discuss the content and relevance of these articles to the policy debate, and review the broader research literature on the educational and economic impacts of deworming. We conclude that existing evidence still indicates that mass deworming is a cost-effective health investment for governments in low-income countries where worm infections are widespread.

A key question in this policy debate is whether deworming increases school attendance (and improves other life outcomes), and if so, whether distributing deworming pills through schools is the most cost-effective way of doing so.

A second re-analysis applies alternative statistical methods to the same data.