Persistent ‘hotspots’ of lymphatic filariasis microfilaraemia despite 14 years of mass drug administration in Ghana
A study to compare baseline microfilaraemia prevalence and anti-microfilaria interventions between hotspot and stopped-MDA districts
Abstract
Among the 216 districts in Ghana, 98 were declared endemic for lymphatic filariasis in 1999 after mapping. Pursuing the goal of elimination, the World Health organization (WHO) recommends annual treatment using mass drugs administration (MDA) for at least 5 years. MDA was started in the country in 2001 and reached national coverage in 2006. By 2014, 69 districts had ‘stopped-MDA’ (after passing the transmission assessment survey) while 29 others remained with persistent microfilaraemia (mf) prevalence (≥1%) despite more than 11 years of MDA and were classified as ‘hotspots’.
An ecological study was carried out to compare baseline mf prevalence and anti-microfilaria interventions between hotspot and stopped-MDA districts.
This research was supported by the UK Department for International Development’s Operational Research Capacity Building Programme led by the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union)
Citation
Biritwum N-K, Yikpotey P, Marfo BK, Odoom S, Mensah EO, Asiedu O, Alomatu B, Hervie ET, Yeboah A, Ade S, Hinderaker SG, Reid A, Takarinda KC, Koudou B, Koroma JB. Persistent “hotspots” of lymphatic filariasis microfilaraemia despite 14 years of mass drug administration in Ghana. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2016;110(12):690–5.