2017
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005748
|View full text |Cite
|
Sign up to set email alerts
|

Lymphatic filariasis patient identification in a large urban area of Tanzania: An application of a community-led mHealth system

Abstract: BackgroundLymphatic filariasis (LF) is best known for the disabling and disfiguring clinical conditions that infected patients can develop; providing care for these individuals is a major goal of the Global Programme to Eliminate LF. Methods of locating these patients, knowing their true number and thus providing care for them, remains a challenge for national medical systems, particularly when the endemic zone is a large urban area.Methodology/Principle findingsA health community-led door-to-door survey appro… Show more

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...
2
1
1
1

Citation Types

1
37
1

Year Published

2017
2017
2024
2024

Publication Types

Select...
8
1

Relationship

2
7

Authors

Journals

citations
Cited by 35 publications
(39 citation statements)
references
References 26 publications
1
37
1
Order By: Relevance
“…The present survey results highlight a greater burden of lymphoedema cases compared to that of hydrocoele, with over 33 times as many leg lymphoedema cases reported than hydrocoele. These results differ to other studies on clinical case estimates in African LF-endemic countries including Malawi and Tanzania where the number of hydrocoele cases identified was almost double that of lymphoedema cases identified [ 28 , 29 ].This is likely to be related to the presence of podoconiosis in Ethiopia. Here we highlight that the vast majority of lymphoedema cases were bilateral; a manifestation more typically seen with non-filarial lymphoedema [ 9 ].…”
Section: Discussioncontrasting
confidence: 99%
“…The present survey results highlight a greater burden of lymphoedema cases compared to that of hydrocoele, with over 33 times as many leg lymphoedema cases reported than hydrocoele. These results differ to other studies on clinical case estimates in African LF-endemic countries including Malawi and Tanzania where the number of hydrocoele cases identified was almost double that of lymphoedema cases identified [ 28 , 29 ].This is likely to be related to the presence of podoconiosis in Ethiopia. Here we highlight that the vast majority of lymphoedema cases were bilateral; a manifestation more typically seen with non-filarial lymphoedema [ 9 ].…”
Section: Discussioncontrasting
confidence: 99%
“…This drop may be explained by the absence of stable lights in uninhabited areas where the mosquito population is more likely to be of low abundance, or in more rural settings where stable lights are less likely to be present, as electricity is in short supply in large parts of rural Nigeria. Although LF has always been associated with more rural areas [ 66 68 ], a recent study in Tanzania has highlighted the burden of LF in urban settings [ 69 ], and corroborated in a study conducted in an urban Nigerian setting [ 68 ]. Studies have also illustrated that mosquitoes are more likely to aggregate around human populations [ 70 , 71 ].…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 88%
“…This enabled identification, recording and mapping of lymphatic filariasis patients increases the efficiency of planning appropriate morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP) activities (Mwingira et al 2017). Similarly, the use of global positioning system data loggers is likely to become increasingly important to understand the movement of individuals and the dynamics of communities and individual behaviours and consequent transmission ecology (Brant et al 2018).…”
Section: Harnessing New Technologiesmentioning
confidence: 99%