The expansion of soil-transmitted helminth control strategies ? Authors' reply

Abstract

We thank Gang Qin and Xun Zhuang for their letter regarding our systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet. Qin and Zhuang raise concerns about the heterogeneity of the included studies, reflecting low study quality. However, the heterogeneity in our meta-analysis in terms of prevalence reduction cannot be solely attributed to low study quality. The effect of soiltransmitted helminth (STH) control programmes varies significantly, because of a variety of factors, including environmental conditions, water, sanitation, and hygiene, and underlying transmission intensity