New approach for controlling intestinal worm infections may help millions

Expanding the control strategy for intestinal worms to treating adults as well as children could improve the health of millions of people worldwide who are infected or reinfected by these parasites every year.

These intestinal worms – soil-transmitted helminths – are responsible for the most common parasitic disease of humans worldwide. A staggering 1.45 billion people – that’s nearly a fifth of the global population – are affected and at risk of the long-term consequences of this largely preventable infection.

Neglected diseases

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis is one of 17 “neglected tropical diseases”, a grouping that