Reassessment of the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections in Sri Lanka to enable a more focused control programme: a cross-sectional national school survey with spatial modelling

BACKGROUND: In Sri Lanka, deworming programmes for soil-transmitted helminth infections became an integral part of school health in the 1960s, whereas routine antenatal deworming with mebendazole started in the 1980s. A 2003 national soil-transmitted helminth survey done among schoolchildren found an overall prevalence of 6·9%. In our study, we aimed to reassess the national prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections to enable implementation of a more focused control programme that targets smaller administrative areas at risk of continued transmission. METHODS: We did a cross-sectional, school-based, national survey using multistage stratified cluster sampling, covering all nine provinces as well as populations at high risk of soil-transmitted helminth infections living in urban slums and in plantation-sector communities. Our study population was children aged 5–7 years attending state schools. Faecal samples were collected and analysed with duplicate modified Kato-Katz smears. We modelled the risk of soil-transmitted helminth infection using generalised linear mixed-effects models, and we developed prevalence maps to enable informed decision making at the smallest health administrative level in the country. FINDINGS: Between Jan 23 and May 9, 2017, we recruited 5946 children from 130 schools; 4276 (71·9%) children provided a faecal sample for examination. National prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infection was 0·97% (95% CI 0·63–1·48) among primary schoolchildren. Prevalence in the high-risk communities surveyed was higher than national prevalence: 2·73% (0·75–6·87) in urban slum communities and 9·02% (4·29–18·0) in plantation sector communities. Our prevalence maps showed that the lowest-level health administrative regions could be categorised into low risk (prevalence <1%), high risk (prevalence >10%), or intermediate risk (1–10%) areas. INTERPRETATION: Our survey findings indicate that the national prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infection has continued to decline in Sri Lanka. On the basis of WHO guidelines, we recommend discontinuation of routine deworming in low-risk areas, continuation of annual deworming in high-risk areas, and deworming once every 2 years in intermediate-risk areas, for at least 4 years. FUNDING: Task Force for Global Health and WHO.