ParaDesign is a new user-friendly tool to aid monitoring and evaluation of deworming programmes.
As deworming is upscaled, programme managers, policymakers and drug donors have to periodically assess worm infection by means of prevalence and infection intensity to determine whether the deworming programme is meeting objectives.
An international collaboration of researchers developped a mathematical framework based on worm egg counts in stool that allows programme managers to adapt their survey design according to both local worm epidemiology and resources. The framework is accessible through ParaDesign, developed for end-users without prior knowledge of the framework itself or any statistical software.
The team behind ParaDesign:
Bruno Levecke, Brecht Devleesschauwer, Johannes Charlier and Jozef Vercruysse, Ghent University
Roy Anderson, Imperial College London
Dirk Berkvens, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
Niko Speybroeck, Université catholique de Louvain
Stefan Van Aelst, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Explore ParaDesign
Read more about the mathematical framework in Advances in Parasitology
For further information, please visit ParaDesign or bruno.levecke [at] ugent.be (contact Bruno Levecke).