The control of hookworm disease in Commonwealth Caribbean countries

Early in the 20th century, the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) assisted the southern United States in eradicating this disease. Soon other countries requested assistance and the Rockefeller Foundation responded by creating their International Health Commission to target the problem. [Display omitted] ► The hookworm programme saw the introduction and development of pubic health systems with units dedicated to health education (taking the message to the community using public lectures and films), environmental sanitation, public health legislation, and laboratory services which became the forerunner to the development of primary health care centres which are now permanent features in Ministries of Health in the Caribbean as well as other countries of the world. ► The upward economic and social mobility of the people enabled them to have modern privies, wearing of shoes even by farmers were also partly responsible for the reductions of infections. ► Further, the continuing ritual of mothers who now use new purgatives such as mebendazole, albendazole and flubendazole to purge their children also helped in reducing infections of hookworms and other geohelminths. Like other countries around the globe where conditions existed for the parasites causing hookworm disease to thrive, this disease was a serious problem to settlers in countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean, i.e. those countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. Early in the 20th century, the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) assisted the southern United States in controlling this disease. Soon other countries requested assistance and the Rockefeller Foundation responded by creating their International Health Commission to target the problem. Guyana (then British Guiana) was the first country where work was started. Through a system of chemotherapy, sanitation with the provision of latrines and health education the RF assisted the Commonwealth Caribbean countries during the period 1914–1925 in controlling the disease. Most countries continued the programmes started by the Rockefeller Foundation and this paper provides evidence through a series of surveys to show that hookworm disease is no longer a public health problem.