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Modeling the interruption of the transmission of soil-transmitted helminths by repeated mass chemotherapy of school-age children
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Truscott, James E., Hollingsworth, T. Déirdre and Anderson, Roy M. (2014) Modeling the interruption of the transmission of soil-transmitted helminths by repeated mass chemotherapy of school-age children. PLoS One, Volume 8 (Number 12). Article number e3323. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003323 ISSN 1932-6203.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003323
Abstract
Background: The control or elimination of neglected tropical diseases has recently become the focus of increased interest and funding from international agencies through the donation of drugs. Resources are becoming available for the treatment of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection through school-based deworming strategies. However, little research has been conducted to assess the impact of STH treatment that could be used to guide the design of efficient elimination programs.
Methodology: We construct and analyse an age-structured model of STH population dynamics under regular treatment. We investigate the potential for elimination with finite rounds of treatment, and how this depends on the value of the basic reproductive number R0 and treatment frequency.
Principal findings: Analysis of the model indicates that its behaviour is determined by key parameter groupings describing the basic reproduction number and the fraction of it attributable to the treated group, the timescale of material in the environment and the frequency and efficacy of treatment. Mechanisms of sexual reproduction and persistence of infectious material in the environment are found to be much more important in the context of elimination than in the undisturbed baseline scenario. For a given rate of drug use, sexual reproduction dictates that less frequent, higher coverage treatment is more effective. For a given treatment coverage level, the lifespan of infectious material in the environment places a limit on the effectiveness of increased treatment frequency.
Conclusions: Our work suggests that for models to capture the dynamics of parasite burdens in populations under regular treatment as elimination is approached, they need to include the effects of sexual reproduction among parasites and the dynamics infectious material in the reservoir. The interaction of these two mechanisms has a strong effect on optimum treatment strategies, both in terms of how frequently to treat and for how long.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine | ||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Mathematics |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Helminthiasis -- Treatment -- Mathematical models | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | PLoS One | ||||||||
Publisher: | Public Library of Science | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1932-6203 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 4 December 2014 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Volume 8 | ||||||||
Number: | Number 12 | ||||||||
Number of Pages: | 9 | ||||||||
Article Number: | Article number e3323 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003323 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 28 December 2015 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 28 December 2015 | ||||||||
Funder: | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust (London, England), World Bank, GlaxoSmithKline | ||||||||
Grant number: | OPP1033751 (BMGF), 304313 (WB) |
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