Mass deworming

Mass deworming
Nurse giving a deworming tablet to a child in Kakute, Uganda
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Mass deworming, is one of the preventive chemotherapy tools,^[1][2] used to treat large numbers of people, particularly children, for worm infections notably soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and schistosomiasis in areas with a high prevalence of these conditions.^[3][4] It involves treating everyone – often all children who attend schools, using existing infrastructure to save money – rather than testing first and then only treating selectively. Serious side effects have not been reported when administering the medication to those without worms,^[1][2] and testing for the infection is many times more expensive than treating it. Therefore, for the same amount of money, mass deworming can treat more people more cost-effectively than selective deworming.^[5] Mass deworming is one example of mass drug administration.^[3]

Mass deworming of children can be carried out by administering mebendazole and albendazole which are two types of anthelmintic drug.^[5] The cost of providing one tablet every six to twelve months per child (typical doses) is relatively low.^[6]

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis is the most prevalent neglected tropical disease.^[7] Over 870 million children are at risk of parasitic worm infection.^[8] Worm infections interfere with nutrient uptake, can lead to anemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development, and pose a serious threat to children’s health, education, and productivity. Infected children are often too sick or tired to concentrate at school, or to attend at all.^[9] In 2001, the World Health Assembly set a target for the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat 75% of school-aged children by 2010.^[5]

Some non-governmental organizations support mass deworming, such as the Deworm the World Initiative (a project of the non-governmental organization Evidence Action), the END Fund (founded by Legatum Foundation in 2012),^[10] the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and Sightsavers. Because of the low cost of deworming children, large-scale implementation may provide wider benefits to society.^[11]