Helminth co-infection and clinical HIV-1 disease progression in resource constrained settings • Effect of treatment on HIV-1 RNA: Plasma HIV-1 RNA levels correlate closely with the burden of helminth infection as measured by the number of excreted eggs per gram of stool (p < 0.001). In this same cohort, anti-helminth therapy leading to clearance of helminth eggs in the stool led to a significant decrease in HIV-1 plasma viral load (-0.36 log10) in this cohort. While this effect may appear modest, mathematical modeling suggests that a 0.5 log reduction in HIV-1 RNA levels would slow the onset of AIDS by 3.5 years and would delay the need for antiretroviral medications by almost a full year.