Prevalence, risk factors, challenges, and the currently available diagnostic tools for the determination of helminths infections in human

Abstract

Soil transmitted helminthes (STH) are among the major public health issues in tropical and sub-tropical countries infecting more than 2 billion humans worldwide. STH causes considerable morbidity in children, affecting their cognitive development and physical growth. Endemic areas with poor sanitation and limited access to good quality water supply have the highest burden of STH infection. Various approaches to reduce and control the worm infections include the intermittent deworming of children with anti-helminthic drugs. Individual patient management and population based studies can only be successful upon using the diagnostic techniques with high accuracy. The lack of reliable tools for the provision of correct diagnostic results about the status and intensity of infection is a major challenge, as these factors varies considerably in areas of low infection intensities. The techniques currently available for the diagnosis of parasitic infections show limited specificity and sensitivity and as such several techniques in combination are normally used in diagnosing the variety of parasite species infection. This review article was planned to study the prevalence, risk factors, and the available diagnostic techniques for soil and water transmitted helminthes infections in humans. This article also discussed the challenges in diagnosis, treatment, and management of worm infections particularly helminthes. The articles available online on important portals like google scholar, PubMed, Digital Libraries, PakMediNet, Science direct, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) were searched for inclusion of the data in this review study. Duplicate studies and irrelevant reports describing the general aspects of parasite infections were excluded. This review study provides a comprehensive report on the prevalence, accurate diagnostic, and chemotherapeutic protocols to reduce the burden of worms infections. WHO suggests the chemotherapy for worm infections as feasible and cost effective strategy in schools due to the lack of proper policy for the prevention of intestinal worms.