Low transmission of Wuchereria bancrofti in cross-border districts of Côte d’Ivoire: A great step towards lymphatic filariasis elimination in West Africa

Abstract

Background Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is widely endemic in Cô te d'Ivoire, and elimination as public health problem (EPHP) is based on annual mass drug administration (MDA) using ivermectin and albendazole. To guide EPHP efforts, we evaluated Wuchereria bancrofti infection indices among humans, and mosquito vectors after four rounds of MDA in four cross-border health districts of Cô te d'Ivoire. Methodology We monitored people and mosquitoes for W. bancrofti infections in the cross-border health districts of Aboisso, Blolé quin, Odienné and Ouangolodougou, Cô te d'Ivoire. W. bancrofti circulating filarial antigen (CFA) was identified using filariasis test strips, and antigen-positive individuals were screened for microfilaremia. Moreover, filarial mosquito vectors were sampled using window exit traps and pyrethrum sprays, and identified morphologically at species level. Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Culex quinquefasciatus females were analyzed for W. bancrofti infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Principal findings Overall, we found a substantial decline in W. bancrofti infection indices after four rounds of MDA compared to pre-MDA baseline data. CFA prevalence fell from 3.38-5.50% during pre-MDA to 0.00-1.53% after MDA interventions. No subjects had detectable levels of CFA in Ouangolodougou. Moreover, post-MDA CFA prevalence was very low, and below the 1%

Efficacy and safety of co-administered ivermectin and albendazole in school-aged children and adults infected with Trichuris trichiura in Côte d'Ivoire, Laos, and Pemba Island, Tanzania: a double-blind, parallel-group, phase 3, randomised controlled trial

“…Côte d'Ivoire has the longest history of community-wide use of ivermectin to fight filarial diseases, compared with Laos, where to date ivermectin has not been used in any programme. 26,27 In Laos, mainly mebendazole is provided for STH control. On Pemba Island, mass drug administration against lymphatic filariasis was stopped in 2015 after six rounds.…”

Contrasting Lymphatic Filariasis with Kaposi Sarcoma in a Known HIV Disease Patient: A Clinical and Histopathological Presentation and Implication to Care

“…In Sub Saharan Africa, LF is caused by the filarial nematode Wucheleria bancrofti, transmitted by mosquitoes of the species of Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus [10,11]. The disease is also widely endemic in Zambia with an overall prevalence rate estimated at 7.4% in 2011 from more than 10, 000 sampled individuals across 108 sites in all regions of the country [12].…”

Ghana’s path towards eliminating lymphatic filariasis

“…LF is particularly transmitted by Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus especially in sub-Saharan Africa [ 1 , 5 ].…”