![]() PAHO provides support to STH endemic countries through direct technical cooperation, training, development of tools and technical documents to guide countries to achieve the goals for their control and elimination as a public health problem. In at-risk areas, the use of footwear is also important to prevent children from becoming infected when walking on contaminated soil. Good hygiene practices like hand washing and personal cleanliness are measures that prevent infection.More severe infections can cause a variety of symptoms, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, general malaise, and weakness. Mildly infected people are usually asymptomatic.STH infections have a major impact on the social and economic development of communities where prevalence rates are high, since they affect adults’ ability to work and cause school absenteeism among children.This occurs because the worms feed on the host’s tissues, especially blood, leading to loss of iron and proteins. In pregnant women it produces anemia and the risk of bearing children with low birthweight, while infected children suffer physical, nutritional, and cognitive deterioration due to poor absorption of micronutrients and anemia. Infection is most frequent in children and women.The causative agents of the infection are nematode species ( Ascaris Lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura) and uncinaria species ( Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) that enter human beings in the form of eggs in contaminated food, or in the form of Ancylostoma larvae that penetrate the skin, primarily as a result of walking barefoot on contaminated soil.Transmission occurs when eggs of the parasite are present in human feces and then contaminate the soil in areas with deficient sanitation systems. Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection, commonly referred to as intestinal worms, generally affects the poorest communities.In addition: health and hygiene education reduces transmission and reinfection by encouraging healthy behaviours and provision of adequate sanitation is also important but not always possible in resource-poor settings. This intervention reduces morbidity by reducing the worm burden. Treatment should be given once a year when the baseline prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections in the community is over 20%, and twice a year when the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections in the community is over 50%. PAHO/WHO recommends mass administration of the antiparasitic drugs- albendazole (400mg) or mebendazole (500mg)- to the following population groups in areas at risk for STH infection: pre-school age children (ages 1 to 4) and school-age children (ages 5 to 14), women of childbearing age (including pregnant women in the second and third trimesters and breastfeeding women).One gram of feces from an infected individual can contain up to 100 parasite eggs. ![]() It is essential to improve and increase access to basic sanitation facilities, such as ventilated pit latrines and septic tanks in order to ensure proper disposal of human feces.The countries with the greatest presence of helminthiasis are Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. Nearly 46 million children between the ages of 1 and 14 are at risk of infection by these parasites. In the Americas, STH infections are present Region-wide, affecting an estimated one-third of the population.Approximately 1.5 billion people are infected with soil-transmitted helminths worldwide, making this the most common infection in the world.Mass deworming once or twice a year in communities and countries with high prevalence, practicing personal hygiene measures, and increasing access to water and sanitation are interventions to reduce the burden of disease. Lack of access to water and sanitation causes the persistence of these infections. Infection is most common in women and children. Close to 46 million children between the ages of 1 and 14 are at risk of infection by these parasites due to lack of basic sanitation and access to clean water. It is estimated that one out of every three people is infected with geohelminths. In the Americas, soil-transmitted helminths are present throughout the Region. The causative agents are Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworms. Helminths, transmitted by contact with soil and known as Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH) or intestinal parasites, are the most common infections worldwide and affect the poorest and most vulnerable populations.
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