About the project

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of infectious diseases that affect children and adults in the world’s poorest communities. Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) are among the most widely distributed NTD: they affect almost one fifth of the world’s population, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, China and East Asia.

These intestinal worms cause considerable morbidity. Children infected with STH suffer from malnutrition and impaired growth and cognitive development.

STH infections are caused by different species of parasitic worms, mainly roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) and are transmitted by eggs present in the faeces of infected people. These eggs in turn contaminate the soil in areas where sanitation is poor. Strongyloides stercoralis, another STH, has been traditionally neglected in research studies. It is estimated to infect at least 30-100 million of people living in tropical and sub-tropical areas, although data on prevalence are unavailable for most countries.

STH control strategies are based on periodic treatment of populations at risk (mainly preschool and school-aged children and women of reproductive age) to eliminate infecting worms, health and hygiene education to prevent re-infection, and improved sanitation to reduce soil contamination with eggs.

In fact, controlling or stopping STH transmission cannot be achieved without improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Given that preventive chemotherapy lacks efficacy for some species of parasitic worms, some infected individuals keep shedding worms despite treatment, which, together with poor WASH conditions, favours reinfection.

WASH-related interventions are diverse and include improvements in water access (water quality or quantity), sanitation access (improved latrines or faecal sludge management) and hygiene practices (hand washing or soap-use).

Universal, affordable and sustainable access to WASH is a major public health issue and is the focus of Sustainable Development Goal 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”, of the 2030 Agenda.

STH in Numbers:

In fact, controlling or stopping STH transmission cannot be achieved without improving access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene (WASH). The main reasons are: i) STH deworming campaigns with preventive chemotherapy only target pre-school children, schoolchildren and women at reproductive age, and ii) recommended deworming drugs lack efficacy for some STH species. Thus, infected population uncovered or uncured by the campaigns can still transmit the infection. Hence, WASH improvement will interrupt the transmission cycle and will protect from reinfection.

WASH-related interventions are diverse and include improvements in water access (water quality and quantity), sanitation access (improved latrines and faecal sludge management) and hygiene practices (hand-washing with soap).

Universal, affordable and sustainable access to WASH is a major public health issue and is the focus of Sustainable Development Goal 6 “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”, of the 2030 Agenda.

Although this project will not directly address WASH issues, it aims to establish a network that will contribute to the development of comprehensive strategies to control and inturrupt the transmission of soil transmitted helminths.