WHO’s Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases (STAG-NTD), having appraised the Cochrane review on soil-transmitted helminth infections published in July 2015, together with the existing body of evidence (some of which was not taken into account in the Cochrane review), notes that research has shown the benefits of deworming children with soil-transmitted helminths.
- Read Public health deworming programmes for soil-transmitted helminths in children living in endemic areas (Review) A Cochrane Review
The STAG-NTD therefore continues to endorse WHO's recommendation for mass deworming in areas where the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections is over 20%.
The administration of single-dose albendazole or mebendazole in such areas is safe and the most cost-effective strategy to reach infected children and improve their health and well-being.