Preventive medication has slashed parasitic worm infections around the world

Health experts have drastically reduced certain parasitic worm infections, according to new research. For at least five years, 15 countries — in Africa, Asia, and North America — undertook wide-scale administration of drugs to eliminate worms such as roundworm and hookworm. At the end of the five years, the prevalence of parasitic worm infections fell from nearly 50% to about 14%. Even hookworm infections, which affect more than 500 million people worldwide, were reduced in these countries from 18% down to 8% as a result of preventive medicine. Still, even though some 102 countries implemented preventive strategies, only the 15 included in the study had data to demonstrate progress, which the study authors write highlights the importance of collecting data on how these measures are panning out more regularly.