The fight against lymphatic filariasis:perceptions of community drug distributors during mass drug administration in coastal Kenya

Background:Lymphatic filariasis(LF)#a neglected tropical disease(NTD)and leading cause of global disability,is endemic in 32 countries in Africa with almost 350 million people requiring regular drug administration,and only 16 countries achieving target coverage.Community Drug Distributors(CDDs)are critical for the success of NTD programs,and the distribution of medicines during mass drug administration(MDA)in Africa;however they could also be a weak link.The primary aim of this study is to explore and describe perceptions of CDDs during MDA for LF in Mvita sub-county in Mombasa county and Kaloleni sub-county in Kilifi county,Kenya;and provide recommendations for the effective engagement of communities and CDDs in low-resource settings.Methods:In September 2018,we conducted six focus group discussions with community members in each sub-county,three with men aged 18-30,31-50,and 51 years and above and three with women stratified into the same age groups.In each sub-county,we also conducted semi-struaured interviews with nine community health extension workers(CHEWs),the national LF focal point,the county NTD focal points,and seven community leaders.Content analysis of the data was conducted,involving a process of reading,coding,and displaying data in order to develop a codebook.Results:We found that several barriers and facilitators impact the engagement between CDDs and community members during MDA.These barriers include poor communication and trust between CDDs and communities;community distrust of the federal government;low community knowledge and perceived risk of LF,poor timing of MDA,fragmented supervision of CDDs during MDA;and CDD bias when distributing medicines.We also found that CDD motivation was a critical factor in their ability to successfully meet MDA targets.It was acknowledged that directly observed treatment and adequate health education were often not executed by CDDs.The involvement of community leaders as informal supervisors of CDDs and community members improves MDA.Conclusions:In order to achieve global targets around the elimination of LF,CDDs and communities must be effectively engaged by improving planning and implementation of MDA.

Impact of five annual rounds of mass drug administration with ivermectin on onchocerciasis in Sierra Leone

Background:Onchocerciasis is endemic in 12 of the 14 health districts of Sierra Leone.Good treatment coverage of community-directed treatment with ivermectin was achieved between 2005 and 2009 after the 11-year civil conflict.Sentinel site surveys were conducted in 2010 to evaluate the impact of five annual rounds of ivermectin distribution.Methods:In total,39 sentinel villages from hyper-and meso-endemic areas across the 12 endemic districts were surveyed using skin snips in 2010.Results were analyzed and compared with the baseline data from the same 39 villages.Results:The average microfilaridermia(MF)prevalence across 39 sentinel villages was 53.10%at baseline.The MF prevalence was higher in older age groups,with the lowest in the age group of 1-9 years(11.00%)and the highest in the age group of 40-49 years(82.31%).Overall mean MF density among the positives was 28.87 microfilariae(mf)/snip,increasing with age with the lowest in the age group of 1-9 years and the highest in the age group of 40-49 years.Males had higher MF prevalence and density than females.In 2010 after five rounds of mass drug administration,the overall MF prevalence decreased by 60.26%from 53.10%to 21.10%;the overall mean MF density among the positives decreased by 71.29%from 28.87 mf/snip to 8.29 mf/snip;and the overall mean MF density among all persons examined decreased by 88.58%from 15.33 mf/snip to 1.75 mf/snip.Ten of 12 endemic districts had>50%reduction in MF prevalence.Eleven of 12 districts had≥50%reduction in mean MF density among the positives.Conclusions:A significant reduction of onchocerciasis MF prevalence and mean density was recorded in all 12 districts of Sierra Leone after five annual MDAs with effective treatment coverage.The results suggested that the onchocerciasis elimination programme in Sierra Leone was on course to reach the objective of eliminating onchocerciasis in the country by the year 2025.Annual MDA with ivermectin should continue in all 12 districts and further evaluations are needed across the country to assist the NTDP with programme decision making.

From river blindness control to elimination:bridge over troubled water

Background:An estimated 25 million people are currently infected with onchocerciasis(a parasitic infection caused by the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted by Simulium vectors),and 99%of these are in sub-Saharan Africa.The African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control closed in December 2015 and the World Health Organization has established a new structure,the Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases for the coordination of technical support for activities focused on five neglected tropical diseases in Africa,including onchocerciasis elimination.Aims:In this paper we argue that despite the delineation of a reasonably well-defined elimination strategy,its implementation will present particular difficulties in practice.We aim to highlight these in an attempt to ensure that they are well understood and that effective plans can be laid to solve them by the countries concerned and their international partners.Conclusions:A specific concern is the burden of disease caused by onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy in hyperendemic zones situated in countries experiencing difficulties in strengthening their onchocerciasis control programmes.These difficulties should be identified and programmes supported during the transition from morbidity control to interruption of transmission and elimination.