Reaching girls and women of reproductive age with deworming. Report of the WHO Advisory Group on deworming in girls and women of reproductive age.

The WHO Advisory Group on deworming in girls and women of reproductive age convened a meeting of international experts at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy on 20-30 June 2017. The meeting was co-organized by Dr Antonio Montresor, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Professor Theresa Gyorkos, WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Training in Parasite Epidemiology and Control at the McGill University Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health. Professor Gyorkos chaired the meeting and Dr Layla Mofid was the meeting rapporteur. Drs. Gyorkos and Montresor are the primary co-authors of this report and all participants are considered as co-authors. The Bellagio Declaration was formulated by the Advisory Group and unanimously adopted at the meeting. The overall objectives of the meeting were: to review the current evidence on the occurrence and health impact of soiltransmitted helminth (STH) infection in girls and women of reproductive age and to identify research gaps; to identify operational strategies to control STH infection in each of the different subgroups of girls and women of reproductive age (adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating women and non-pregnant non-lactating women); and to define a plan of action to promote expanded control of STH infection in girls and women of reproductive age.