The Importance of Developing Rigorous Social Science Methods for Community Engagement and Behavior Change During Outbreak Response.

Despite growing international attention, the anthropological and socio-behavioral elements of epidemics continue to be understudied and under resourced and lag behind the traditional outbreak response infrastructure. As seen in the current 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the importance of socio-behavioral elements in understanding transmission and facilitating control of many outbreak-prone pathogens, this is problematic. Beyond the recent strengthening of global outbreak response capacities and global health security measures, a greater focus on the socio-behavioral components of outbreak response is required.

Results of a national school-based deworming programme on soil-transmitted helminths infections and schistosomiasis in Kenya: 2012-2017.

Background: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) and schistosome infections are among the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in the world. School-aged children are particularly vulnerable to these chronic infections that can impair growth, nutritional status and cognitive ability. Mass drug administration (MDA) delivered either once or twice annually is a safe and effective approach recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce worm burden.