Guidelines for the Evaluation of Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis and Schistosomiasis at Community Level — A Guide for Managers of Control Programmes, by A. Montresor, D.W.T. Crompton, D.A.P. Bundy, A. Hall and L. Savioli

Autor: Christian Lengeler
Rok vydání: 1999
Předmět:
Zdroj: Parasitology Today. 15:42
ISSN: 0169-4758
Popis: World Health Organization, 1998. Free upon request. WHO/CTD/SIP/98.1This concise WHO document is a timely contribution in view of the increasing interest in the implementation of school health programmes in areas endemic for intestinal helminths (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworms) and schistosomiasis (due to Schistosoma mansoni or S. haematobium). The experience accumulated in a number of programmes during the past decade, in the area of community and individual diagnosis, is summarized in an operationally relevant format, with the control programme manager in mind. The book’s division, into background information, survey procedures (including sampling), and analysis of the results ensures its coherence and relevance.While, overall, this book give much useful information it has also a number of weaknesses that might render its field use a little less easy than anticipated. The initial rationale for screening is weak and the essential differentiation between individual and community diagnosis—so difficult to explain to implementers but so important in practice—is lacking altogether. Since treatment is an integral part of any survey, a little more information on the currently available drugs, and especially their interaction, would be a very useful background. Procedures for sampling schools at a higher level (eg. at national level) are vague, and will probably prove to be difficult to implement in many countries. The focality of schistosomiasis in many endemic areas, which renders screening so much more complicated than that for soil-transmitted helminths, is also insufficiently highlighted. Finally, the high variability of a single stool or urine examination and the resulting uncertainty for the individual diagnosis should have been noted, as well as the fact that the Kato–Katz thick-smear technique for stool examination is less than optimal for detecting hookworm infections.A practical book for the evaluation of helminthiasis at community level is undoubtedly necessary. However, such a book would benefit from being a little more comprehensive, given that it covers six different parasites and a wide range of issues (background, diagnosis and treatment). More importantly, such a book should not oversimplify the key issues that are crucial for the success of the evaluation.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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