Diagnosis, Treatment and Control of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections

A special issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 285

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines
2. Adjunct Professor of Global Health, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Interests: tropical medicine; neglected tropical diseases; public health; parasitology

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Interests: host-parasite interaction; molecular helminthology and immunology; soil-transmitted helminth infections; immune response

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections affect 1.5 billion people worldwide, with preschool children, school-age children, and women of reproductive age being the most at risk. The majority of these populations are among the most disadvantaged communities with poor access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. STH infections are transmitted through ingesting eggs or skin penetration by larvae. Moderate- to heavy-intensity infections may cause anemia, malnutrition, impaired physical and cognitive development in children, and an increased risk of maternal and infant mortality and low birth weight in women of reproductive age (WHO, 2020; 2023a). Control strategies include preventive chemotherapy (PC) in at-risk populations, providing adequate sanitation and waste management facilities, and promoting improved hygiene practices (WHO, 2020). There has been a decline in disability-adjusted life years lost to STH infections from over 4 million in 2000 to 1.9 million in 2019, which is parallel to the increase in the global coverage of PC from <5% to 60% (Montresor et al., 2022; WHO, 2023b). Significant challenges in this control include disruption to health service deliveries caused by COVID-19, leading to a reduction in school-based deworming campaigns and mass drug administration coverage, limited laboratory methods for diagnosis, limited quantities and difficulties in the procurement of PC drugs, and increased risk for developing drug resistance (WHO, 2020). Several milestones have been made toward the control of STH infections, including the development of guidelines for the restriction of strongyloidiasis, the advancement of a monitoring and evaluation framework for STH programs, the publication of a target product profile for diagnostic tests, and conducting drug efficacy assessment studies (WHO, 2023b). Despite these, there is still a need to increase political commitment to ensure sustainable financing, develop more effective medicines, and develop a mapping and surveillance system to monitor drug resistance and achieve the 2030 targets (WHO, 2020).

This Special Issue welcomes submissions focusing on updates, challenges, and opportunities in the diagnosis, treatment and control of STH infections.

References:

Montresor, A., Mwinzi, P., Mupfasoni, D., & Garba, A. (2022). Reduction in DALYs lost due to soil-transmitted helminthiases and schistosomiasis from 2000 to 2019 is parallel to the increase in coverage of the global control programmes. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 16(7), e0010575. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010575

World Health Organization (WHO). (2020). Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, A road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030. Geneva, Switzerland. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240010352

World Health Organization (WHO). (2023a). Soil-transmitted helminth infections. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/soil-transmitted-helminth-infections

World Health Organization (WHO). (2023b). Global report on neglected tropical diseases 2023. Geneva, Switzerland. https://www.who.int/teams/control-of-neglected-tropical-diseases/global-report-on-Neglected-tropical-diseases-2023

Prof. Dr. Vicente Belizario
Dr. Poom Adisakwattana
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • control
  • diagnosis
  • treatment of soil-transmitted helminths
  • neglected tropical diseases

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers

There is no accepted submissions to this special issue at this moment.
Back to TopTop