A cluster RCT of the impact of a community-based hygiene and sanitation programme on infection with intestinal parasites following mass albendazole chemotherapy in Timor-Leste (2011-2014)

Intestinal parasites cause anaemia, stunting, wasting and poor mental development in childhood, and are related to poverty and poor hygiene. Treatment with antiparasitic drugs cures infections in human hosts, but does not prevent rapid re-infection when people contact a parasite-contaminated environment. We will quantify the impact of a hygiene and sanitation programme that reduces environmental contamination in communities that receive mass treatment with the antiparasitic drug albendazole.