International Aid Group Fights Parasites in Brazil

Article

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Officials from INMED are working to help some 2 million Brazilian children infected with intestinal parasites.

For US$5 per child, the drug mebendazole can kill the bugs, which deplete children of vitamin A and iron. The U.S.-based international health and development organization created the Healthy Children, Healthy Futures program to combine public and private monies to aid impoverished public health.

Officials from the World Health Organization estimate that 90 percent of children in rural Brazil are infected with these parasites. Because they are transmitted via soil and water, the organization teaches how to maintain their health after the medication is given. These lessons include information on hand washing, wearing shoes, corralling animals and washing fruits and vegetables.

INMED also works in Mexico, the Dominica Republic, Burkina Faso, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines and India.

For additional information, call Marshall Hoffman at (703) 820-2244.

Related Videos
Picture at AORN’s International Surgical Conference & Expo 2024
Rare Disease Month: An Infection Control Today® and Contagion® collaboration.
Infection Control Today Topic of the Month: Mental Health
Lucy S. Witt, MD, investigates hospital bed's role in C difficile transmission, emphasizing room interactions and infection prevention
Shelley Summerlin-Long, MPH, MSW, BSN, RN, senior quality improvement leader, infection prevention, UNC Medical Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
An eye instrument holding an intraocular lens for cataract surgery. How to clean and sterilize it appropriately?   (Adobe Stock 417326809By Mohammed)
Christopher Reid, PhD  (Photo courtesy of Christopher Reid, PhD)
Paper with words antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and glasses.   (Adobe Stock 126570978 by Vitalii Vodolazskyi)
Association for the Health Care Environment (Logo used with permission)
Related Content