TY - JOUR
T1 - Health education and the control of intestinal worm infections in China
T2 - A new vision
AU - McManus, Donald P.
AU - Bieri, Franziska A.
AU - Li, Yue Sheng
AU - Williams, Gail M.
AU - Yuan, Li Ping
AU - Henglin, Yang
AU - Du, Zun Wei
AU - Clements, Archie C.A.
AU - Steinmann, Peter
AU - Raso, Giovanna
AU - Yap, Peiling
AU - Magalhães, Ricardo J.Soares
AU - Stewart, Donald
AU - Ross, Allen G.
AU - Halton, Kate
AU - Zhou, Xiao Nong
AU - Olveda, Remigio M.
AU - Tallo, Veronica
AU - Gray, Darren J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The “Magic Glasses” health education program in China and the Philippines is supported by UBS Optimus Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. We thank Andrew Bedford, director of the cartoon “The Magic Glasses,” and the team at 5th World Media that produced it. Dr. Gray is an Australian Research Council Fellow (DECRA) and Dr. McManus is a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow.
PY - 2014/7/24
Y1 - 2014/7/24
N2 - Background: The transmission of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) is associated with poverty, poor hygiene behaviour, lack of clean water and inadequate waste disposal and sanitation. Periodic administration of benzimidazole drugs is the mainstay for global STH control but it does not prevent re-infection, and is unlikely to interrupt transmission as a stand-alone intervention. Findings. We reported recently on the development and successful testing in Hunan province, PR China, of a health education package to prevent STH infections in Han Chinese primary school students. We have recently commenced a new trial of the package in the ethnically diverse Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province and the approach is also being tested in West Africa, with further expansion into the Philippines in 2015. Conclusions: The work in China illustrates well the direct impact that health education can have in improving knowledge and awareness, and in changing hygiene behaviour. Further, it can provide insight into the public health outcomes of a multi-component integrated control program, where health education prevents re-infection and periodic drug treatment reduces prevalence and morbidity.
AB - Background: The transmission of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) is associated with poverty, poor hygiene behaviour, lack of clean water and inadequate waste disposal and sanitation. Periodic administration of benzimidazole drugs is the mainstay for global STH control but it does not prevent re-infection, and is unlikely to interrupt transmission as a stand-alone intervention. Findings. We reported recently on the development and successful testing in Hunan province, PR China, of a health education package to prevent STH infections in Han Chinese primary school students. We have recently commenced a new trial of the package in the ethnically diverse Xishuangbanna autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province and the approach is also being tested in West Africa, with further expansion into the Philippines in 2015. Conclusions: The work in China illustrates well the direct impact that health education can have in improving knowledge and awareness, and in changing hygiene behaviour. Further, it can provide insight into the public health outcomes of a multi-component integrated control program, where health education prevents re-infection and periodic drug treatment reduces prevalence and morbidity.
KW - "Magic Glasses" video
KW - Ancylostoma duodenale
KW - Ascaris lumbricoides
KW - Health education
KW - Necator americanus
KW - People's Republic of China
KW - Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs)
KW - Trichuris trichiura
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904518372&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84904518372&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/1756-3305-7-344
DO - 10.1186/1756-3305-7-344
M3 - Article
C2 - 25060336
AN - SCOPUS:84904518372
SN - 1756-3305
VL - 7
JO - Parasites and Vectors
JF - Parasites and Vectors
IS - 1
M1 - 344
ER -
