Intestinal helminth infections caused by soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomes bring about the greatest burden of disease in poverty-stricken areas in the developing world. The most vulnerable group and the most significant contributors to disease transmission are the school-age children. While awaiting major improvements on sanitation, the recommended strategy for helminth control is school-based, teacher assisted, mass drug administration (MDA). However, millions of individuals worldwide remain afflicted with these diseases, and the Philippines is no different from many of the developing countries. The overall objective of this paper is to review current Philippine control programs and initiatives and offer evidence based recommendations for improvement. Discrepancies between parasitologic parameters and drug coverage rates pose significant challenges in the control and prevention of helminth infections in the country. School-based MDA may be scaled up after successful local initiatives, where teachers have direct participation in drug administration. There is also a need to involve the social science sector to help address the behavioral aspects of helminth control. Moreover, monitoring and evaluation of interventions through identification of success parameters will contribute to the optimization of school-based helminth control, and to strategies towards effective control of intestinal helminth infections as a public health problem in the country.
Ascaris ; Trichuris ; Schistosomiasis

This is an unusual case of a 55 year old male with appendicitis caused by the incarceration of the appendix in an area of tissue reaction from a prosthetic mesh used for open inguinal hernia repair which migrated transanatomically from the right inguinal area into the right lower peritoneal cavity. Isolated appendicitis caused by such phenomenon has never been reported in current literature.

Human ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Appendix ; Appendicitis ; Hernia, Inguinal ; Peritoneal Cavity