Pilot assessment of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in the context of transmission assessment surveys for lymphatic filariasis in Benin and Tonga.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mass drug administration (MDA) for lymphatic filariasis (LF) programs has delivered more than 2 billion treatments of albendazole, in combination with either ivermectin or diethylcarbamazine, to communities co-endemic for soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH), reducing the prevalence of both diseases. A transmission assessment survey (TAS) is recommended to determine if MDA for LF can be stopped within an evaluation unit (EU) after at least five rounds of annual treatment. The TAS also provides an opportunity to simultaneously assess the impact of these MDAs on STH and to determine the frequency of school-based MDA for STH after community-wide MDA is no longer needed for LF.

Methodology/principal findings

Pilot studies conducted in Benin and Tonga assessed the feas

SUBMITTER: Chu BK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3923741 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature