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