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Parasite elimination programs: home and away

Stuart C Garrow and James S McCarthy
Med J Aust 2002; 177 (6): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04806.x
Published online: 16 September 2002

In reply: While specific details of control strategies for intestinal parasites vary according to parasite species, available anthelmintic agents and tools for environmental intervention, it is widely accepted that sustained, coordinated programs supported by government, community and health professionals with agreed methods and targets are the key to success.1 Prociv describes the outcome of just such a program for hookworm in Queensland, and the subsequent recrudescence of infection once the program was scrapped.


  • 1 Kimberley Public Health Unit, Derby, WA.
  • 2 School of Population Health, Herston, QLD.


Correspondence: p.prociv@mailbox.uq.edu.au

  • 1. Albonico M, Crompton DWT, Savioli L. Control strategies for human intestinal nematode infections. Adv Parasitol 1999, 42: 277-341.
  • 2. Waina M, Unghango P, Williams D, et al. The prevalence of hookworm infection, iron deficiency and anaemia in an Aboriginal community in north-west Australia [letter]. Med J Aust 1997; 167: 554.
  • 3. Thompson RC, Reynoldson JA, Garrow SC, et al. Towards the eradication of hookworm in an isolated Australian community. Lancet 2001; 357: 770-771.
  • 4. Lush D, Hargrave JC, Merianos A. Leprosy control in the Northern Territory. Aust N Z J Public Health 1998; 22: 709-713

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