Eradication of lymphatic filariasis

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The eradication of lymphatic filariasis is the ongoing attempt to eradicate the Filarioidea worms which cause the disease lymphatic filariasis and also treat the people who already have the infection.[ citation needed ]

Contents

In 1998, various countries established the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis as a project of the World Health Organization. [1] This international effort had the goal of having eradication programs in every country to eliminate the disease globally. [1]

Eradication plan

The disease spreads when a mosquito transfers a worm parasite through mosquito bite. [2] In various regions the species of worm and mosquito can vary. [2] The prevention and treatment plans differ according to whatever is effective against the species in a given region. [2]

The creation of maps and planning of local monitoring systems has been an essential part of all regional eradication plans. [3]

By region

In the 1970s there was an eradication experiment in French Polynesia. [4] Samoa and Fiji did experiments in the early 1990s. [4] These practical experiments in eradication became models for LF eradication for the rest of the world to use. [4]

A 2018 update for Madagascar reported that many people still tested positive for parasite. [5]

China participated in the program and became LF free in 2007. [6] Prior to that, the disease had been in China since ancient times. [6] In the 1980s China had 30 million people with the disease. [6]

As of 2016 various countries in South East Asia were at different phases in their national elimination programs. [7] Bangladesh, Thailand, Maldives, and Sri Lanka all ended their mass drug administration programs due to success in elimination. India, Indonesia, East Timor, Nepal, and Myanmar are actively doing mass drug administration (MDA). [7]

Thailand took a baseline survey of LF in 2001. [8] From 2002 to 2011 the country did MDA. [8] In September 2017, the World Health Organization declared Thailand to be free of LF. [8]

Tonga did MDA from 2001 to 2006. The World Health Organization declared the country free of LF in 2017. [9]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diethylcarbamazine</span> Chemical compound

Diethylcarbamazine is a medication used in the treatment of filariasis including lymphatic filariasis, tropical pulmonary eosinophilia, and loiasis. It may also be used for prevention of loiasis in those at high risk. While it has been used for onchocerciasis, ivermectin is preferred. It is taken by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onchocerciasis</span> Human helminthiasis (infection by parasite)

Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindness due to infection, after trachoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filariasis</span> Parasitic disease caused by a family of nematode worms

Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding insects such as black flies and mosquitoes. They belong to the group of diseases called helminthiases.

<i>Wuchereria bancrofti</i> Species of parasitic worm

Wuchereria bancrofti is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that is the major cause of lymphatic filariasis. It is one of the three parasitic worms, together with Brugia malayi and B. timori, that infect the lymphatic system to cause lymphatic filariasis. These filarial worms are spread by a variety of mosquito vector species. W. bancrofti is the most prevalent of the three and affects over 120 million people, primarily in Central Africa and the Nile delta, South and Central America, the tropical regions of Asia including southern China, and the Pacific islands. If left untreated, the infection can develop into lymphatic filariasis. In rare conditions, it also causes tropical pulmonary eosinophilia. No vaccine is commercially available, but high rates of cure have been achieved with various antifilarial regimens, and lymphatic filariasis is the target of the World Health Organization Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis with the aim to eradicate the disease as a public-health problem by 2020. However, this goal was not met by 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helminthiasis</span> Any macroparasitic disease caused by helminths

Helminthiasis, also known as worm infection, is any macroparasitic disease of humans and other animals in which a part of the body is infected with parasitic worms, known as helminths. There are numerous species of these parasites, which are broadly classified into tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms. They often live in the gastrointestinal tract of their hosts, but they may also burrow into other organs, where they induce physiological damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dracunculiasis</span> Infection by the Guinea worm

Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis. A person typically becomes infected by drinking water contaminated with guinea worm larvae that reside inside copepods. Stomach acid digests the copepod and releases the guinea worm, which penetrates the digestive tract and escapes into the body. Around a year later, the adult female migrates to an exit site – usually a lower limb – and induces an intensely painful blister on the skin. The blister eventually bursts to form a painful wound, out of which the worm slowly crawls over several weeks. The wound remains painful throughout the worm's emergence, disabling the affected person for the three to ten weeks it takes the worm to emerge. During this time, the open wound can become infected with bacteria, leading to death in around 1% of cases.

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<i>Brugia malayi</i> Medical condition

Brugia malayi is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm), one of the three causative agents of lymphatic filariasis in humans. Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, is a condition characterized by swelling of the lower limbs. The two other filarial causes of lymphatic filariasis are Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia timori, which both differ from B. malayi morphologically, symptomatically, and in geographical extent.

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Podoconiosis, also known as nonfilarial elephantiasis, is a disease of the lymphatic vessels of the lower extremities that is caused by chronic exposure to irritant soils. It is the second most common cause of tropical lymphedema after lymphatic filariasis, and it is characterized by prominent swelling of the lower extremities, which leads to disfigurement and disability. Methods of prevention include wearing shoes and using floor coverings. Mainstays of treatment include daily foot hygiene, compression bandaging, and when warranted, surgery of overlying nodules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lymphatic filariasis</span> Medical condition

Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide, impacting over a hundred million people and manifesting itself in a variety of severe clinical pathologies While most cases have no symptoms, some people develop a syndrome called elephantiasis, which is marked by severe swelling in the arms, legs, breasts, or genitals. The skin may become thicker as well, and the condition may become painful. Affected people are often unable to work and are often shunned or rejected by others because of their disfigurement and disability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neglected tropical diseases</span> Diverse group of tropical infectious diseases which are common in developing countries

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms (helminths). These diseases are contrasted with the "big three" infectious diseases, which generally receive greater treatment and research funding. In sub-Saharan Africa, the effect of neglected tropical diseases as a group is comparable to that of malaria and tuberculosis. NTD co-infection can also make HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis more deadly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eradication of infectious diseases</span> Elimination of a disease from all hosts

The eradication of infectious diseases is the reduction of the prevalence of an infectious disease in the global host population to zero.

Brugia timori is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) which causes the disease "Timor filariasis", or "Timorian filariasis". While this disease was first described in 1965, the identity of Brugia timori as the causative agent was not known until 1977. In that same year, Anopheles barbirostris was shown to be its primary vector. There is no known animal reservoir host.

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<i>Anopheles sinensis</i> Species of mosquito

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Neglected tropical diseases in India are a group of bacterial, parasitic, viral, and fungal infections that are common in low income countries but receive little funding to address them. Neglected tropical diseases are common in India.

The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) is a World Health Organization project to eradicate the Filarioidea worms which cause the disease lymphatic filariasis and also treat the people who already have the infection.

Lymphatic filariasis in India refers to the presence of the disease lymphatic filariasis in India and the social response to the disease. In India, 99% of infections come from a type of mosquito spreading a type of worm through a mosquito bite. The treatment plan provides 400 million people in India with medication to eliminate the parasite. About 50 million people in India were carrying the worm as of the early 2010s, which is 40% of all the cases in the world. In collaboration with other countries around the world, India is participating in a global effort to eradicate lymphatic filariasis. If the worm is eliminated from India then the disease could be permanently eradicated. In October 2019 the Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said that India's current plan is on schedule to eradicate filariasis by 2021.

The Kigali Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases is a global health project that aims to mobilise political and financial resources for the control and eradication of infectious diseases, the so-called neglected tropical diseases due to different parasitic infections. Launched by the Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases on 27 January 2022, it was the culmination and join commitment declared at the Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) hosted by the Government of Rwanda at its capital city Kigali on 23 June 2022.

References

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Further reading