The Interruption of Transmission of Human Onchocerciasis by an Annual Mass Drug Administration Program in Plateau and Nasarawa States, Nigeria.

The Interruption of Transmission of Human Onchocerciasis by an Annual Mass Drug Administration Program in Plateau and Nasarawa States, Nigeria. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Feb 10;: Authors: Richards FO, Eigege A, Umaru J, Kahansim B, Adelamo S, Kadimbo J, Danboyi J, Mafuyai H, Saka Y, Noland GS, Anyaike C, Igbe M, Rakers L, Griswold E, Unnasch TR, Nwoke BEB, Miri E Abstract Plateau and Nasarawa states in central Nigeria were endemic for onchocerciasis. The rural populations of these two states received annual ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA) for a period of 8-26 years (1992-2017). Ivermectin combined with albendazole was given for 8-13 of these years for lymphatic filariasis (LF); the LF MDA program successfully concluded in 2012, but ivermectin MDA continued in areas known to have a baseline meso-/hyperendemic onchocerciasis. In 2017, serological and entomological assessments were undertaken to determine if MDA for onchocerciasis could be stopped in accordance with the current WHO guidelines. Surveys were conducted in 39 sites that included testing 5- to < 10-year-old resident children by using ELISA for OV16 IgG4 antibodies, and Onchocerca volvulus O150 pooled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of Simulium damnosum s.l. vector heads. Only two of 6,262 children were OV16 positive, and none of 19,056 vector heads were positive for parasite DNA. Therefore, both states were able to meet WHO stop-MDA thresholds of an infect...
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research