The population biology and control of Necator americanus in a village community in south-eastern China.

The population dynamic parameters of Necator americanus infections were estimated from longitudinal intensity and prevalence data from a village in south-eastern China. The theoretical predictions of a deterministic model incorporating these parameters were then compared with observed, horizontal, age-prevalence data from an infected population (N = 565), and an estimate of the basic reproduction rate (R0 = 3.7) of N. americanus was obtained. The findings indicate that populations of N. americanus might be easier to control by mass-treatment chemotherapy (eradication requiring only 63% of the population to be treated every year for 4 years) than those of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura.