Advances in Diagnosis, Epidemiology and Control on Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) Infections - Volume II

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on recent advancements in the diagnosis, epidemiology and control of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections.

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are the most common infections worldwide, and affect more than a billion poor people around the world. The main STH species that infect people are the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale). STH infections cause significant disease burden primarily in school-aged children totaling 5.2 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).

While in some countries, during recent years, the prevalence of STH infections has been on the decline (assisted by economic development, improved sanitary conditions and the application of mass drug administration (MDA)), there are still more than 800 million people with ascariasis, and 450 million people with each of trichuriasis or hookworm infections. This panorama is partly because many questions with respect to the diagnosis, epidemiology and control of these infections remain unresolved.

There is a need to enhance the evidence base for novel strategies for the effective diagnosis and control of STH infections, including intervention studies into the long-term sustainability of MDA and efficacy studies of MDA regimens and delivery platforms; epidemiological investigations into socioeconomic and environmental drivers of transmission; mathematical modelling of competing strategies; epidemiology of STH benzimidazole resistance; new drug discovery; vaccine development; development of effective and accurate diagnostic methods; and finally studies into the pathophysiological mechanisms of morbidity including the immunomodulation of autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Bin Zhan
Guest Editor

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