Complex interactions in soil-transmitted helminth co-infections from a cross-sectional study in Sri Lanka
Author(s)
Lepper, Hannah C
Prada, Joaquín M
Davis, Emma L
Gunawardena, Sharmini A
Hollingsworth, T Deirdre
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: Co-infection with multiple soil-transmitted helminth (STH) species is common in communities with a high STH prevalence. The life histories of STH species share important characteristics, particularly in the gut, and there is the potential for interaction, but evidence on whether interactions may be facilitating or antagonistic are limited. Methods: Data from a pretreatment cross-sectional survey of STH egg deposition in a tea plantation community in Sri Lanka were analysed to evaluate patterns of co-infection and changes in egg deposition. Results: There were positive associations between Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) and both Necator americanus (hookworm) and Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), but N. americanus and Ascaris were not associated. N. americanus and Ascaris infections had lower egg depositions when they were in single infections than when they were co-infecting. There was no clear evidence of a similar effect of co-infection in Trichuris egg deposition. Conclusions: Associations in prevalence and egg deposition in STH species may vary, possibly indicating that effects of co-infection are species dependent. We suggest that between-species interactions that differ by species could explain these results, but further research in different populations is needed to support this theory.
Date Issued
2018-08-01
Date Acceptance
2018-06-19
Citation
Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2018, 112 (8), pp.397-404
ISSN
0035-9203
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Start Page
397
End Page
404
Journal / Book Title
Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume
112
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30053259
PII: 5059392
Subjects
0605 Microbiology
1108 Medical Microbiology
1117 Public Health And Health Services
Tropical Medicine
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2018-07-25