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Tag: Patrick Lammie

Control and elimination of lymphatic filariasis in Oceania: Prevalence, geographical distribution, mass drug administration, and surveillance in Samoa, 1998-2017

Donna Huber on October 27, 2021

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a major public health problem globally and in the Pacific Region. The Global Programme to Eliminate LF has made great progress but LF is persistent and resurgent in some Pacific countries and territories. Samoa remains endemic for LF despite elimination efforts through multiple two-drug mass drug administrations (MDA) since 1965, including …

Baseline Mapping of Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa: The Accelerated WHO/AFRO Mapping Project

Donna Huber on April 26, 2021

Mapping is a prerequisite for effective implementation of interventions against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Before the accelerated WHO/AFRO NTD Mapping Project was initiated in 2014, mapping efforts in many countries were frequently carried out in an ad hoc and nonstandardized fashion. In 2013, there were at least 2,200 different districts (of the 4,851 districts in …

Evolution of the monitoring and evaluation strategies to support the World Health Organization’s Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

Donna Huber on December 22, 2020

The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) was established with the ambitious goal of eliminating LF as a public health problem. The remarkable success of the GPELF over the past 2 decades in carrying out its principal strategy of scaling up and scaling down mass drug administration has relied first on the development of …

Towards a comprehensive research and development plan to support the control, elimination and eradication of neglected tropical diseases

Donna Huber on November 11, 2020

To maximise the likelihood of success, global health programmes need repeated, honest appraisal of their own weaknesses, with research undertaken to address any identified gaps. There is still much to be learned to optimise work against neglected tropical diseases. To facilitate that learning, a comprehensive research and development plan is required. Here, we discuss how …

Diagnostics and the neglected tropical diseases roadmap: setting the agenda for 2030

Donna Huber on November 9, 2020

Accurate and reliable diagnostic tools are an essential requirement for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) programmes. However, the NTD community has historically underinvested in the development and improvement of diagnostic tools, potentially undermining the successes achieved over the last 2 decades. Recognizing this, the WHO, in its newly released draft roadmap for NTD 2021-2030, has identified …

Fine-scale heterogeneity in Schistosoma mansoni force of infection measured through antibody response

Donna Huber on August 31, 2020

Schistosomiasis is among the most common parasitic diseases in the world, with over 142 million people infected in low- and middle-income countries. Measuring population-level transmission is centrally important in guiding schistosomiasis control programs. Traditionally, human Schistosoma mansoni infections have been detected using stool microscopy, which is logistically difficult at program scale and has low sensitivity when people …

Combination of Serological, Antigen Detection, and DNA Data for Plasmodium Falciparum Provides Robust Geospatial Estimates for Malaria Transmission in Haiti

Donna Huber on May 21, 2020

Microscopy is the gold standard for malaria epidemiology, but laboratory and point-of-care (POC) tests detecting parasite antigen, DNA, and human antibodies against malaria have expanded this capacity. The island nation of Haiti is endemic for Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria, though at a low national prevalence and heterogenous geospatial distribution. In 2015 and 2016, serosurveys were …

Elimination of onchocerciasis in Africa by 2025: the need for a broad perspective

Donna Huber on July 15, 2019

In response to the recent publication “Is onchocerciasis elimination in Africa feasible by 2025: a perspective based on lessons learnt from the African control programmes” by Dadzie et al., it is important to clarify and highlight the positive and unequivocal research and operational contributions from the American experience towards the worldwide elimination of human onchocerciasis …

Priority use cases for antibody-detecting assays of recent malaria exposure as tools to achieve and sustain malaria elimination

Donna Huber on February 12, 2019

Measurement of malaria specific antibody responses represents a practical and informative method for malaria control programs to assess recent exposure to infection. Technical advances in recombinant antigen production, serological screening platforms, and analytical methods have enabled the identification of several target antigens for laboratory based and point-of-contact tests. Questions remain as to how these serological …

Evaluation of a Single Dose of Azithromycin for Trachoma in Low-Prevalence Communities

Donna Huber on December 13, 2018

ABSTRACT Purpose: Trachoma, caused by repeated ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide and is targeted for elimination as a public health problem. We sought to determine whether a one-time azithromycin mass treatment would reduce trachomatous inflammation–follicular (TF) levels below the elimination threshold of 5% in communities with disease prevalence …