• Epidemiology of HIV-1 and helminth infections in Africa: Over two thirds of all HIV-1 infected individuals live in Africa. An expected 4 million new infections will occur this year in Africa alone. While antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) offer the hope of stemming this tremendous public health disaster, the reality is that many individuals are not able to access ARTs. In addition, millions of HIV infected individuals do not yet qualify for ART based on clinical or immunologic staging criteria. Alternative care strategies to delay immunosuppression and reduce infectivity are critically needed. Treatment of co-infections that are prevalent in areas of high HIV-1 sero-prevalence may be one strategy to address this need.