| Title | Lymphatic filariasis and the implementation of programmes for its global elimination | |
| Authors | Th. Zagkalis, E. Vassalou and Ν. Vakalis
Department of Parasitology, Entomology and Tropical Diseases, National School of Public Health (NSPH) of Athens, Athens, Greece |
|
| Citation | Zagkalis, Th., Vassalou, E., Vakalis, N.: Lymphatic filariasis and the implementation of programmes for its global elimination, efficient and safe alternative drugs in medical practice, Epitheorese Klin. Farmakol. Farmakokinet. 25(2): 91-97 (2011) | |
| Publication Date | Accepted for publication (Final version): July 1, 2011 | |
| Full Text Language | English | |
| Order – Buy | Ηλεκτρονική Μορφή: pdf (10 €) – Digital Type: pdf (10 €)
pharmakonpress[at]pharmakonpress[.]gr |
|
| Keywords | Lymphatic filariasis, epidemiology, transmission, global programmes to eliminate lymphatic filariasis. | |
| Other Terms | review article | |
| Summary | Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic infection caused by the nematodes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori and constitutes the most serious threat to public health as it leads people to chronic disability. The infection is endemic in 83 countries worldwide with over 1.2 billion people at risk of infection and 120 million already infected. In 1997 the World Health Assembly called for global elimination of lymphatic filariasis. Since then a Global Alliance was formed among International Organizations, Private Sector agents, Non-Governmental Development Organizations (NGDOs) and local development agents of endemic countries. This alliance led to the official launch of 2000 Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF), aiming at completely eliminating the infection by the year 2020. The program has two main strategic components: a) the cessation of the spread of infection through mass drug administration (Mass Drug Administration, MDA) and b) the prevention and alleviation of disability. GPELF has expanded in order to provide more than 1.9 billion treatments of annual single doses of medication for about 570 million people living in 48 endemic countries. However, much remains to be done to overcome obstacles and challenges towards the implementation and sustainability of programs against lymphatic filariasis, and their inter-play with other similar Public Health Programs. These programs are valued in all respects as efficient and effective and have real benefit in proportion to the amount of effort expended. Therefore the support from international organizations and the private sector as well as the encouragement of local communities to participate are deemed essential. | |
| References | 1. Cox F.: History of Human Parasitology. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 15(4): 595-612 (2002)
2. Remme J.H.F., et al.: Tropical Diseases Targeted for Elimination: Chagas Disease, Lymphatic Filariasis, Onchocerciasis, and Leprosy. In: (Jamison D.T., et al., eds) Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. Pp. 433-449, Oxford University Press, 2006 3. http://www.who.int/topics/filariasis/en/ 4. http://www.filariasis.org 5. http://www.who.int/lymphatic_filariasis/en/ 6. Βακάλης Ν.: Ιατρική Παρασιτολογία. Εκδ. Ζήτα. Αθήνα, 2004 7. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/lymphaticfilariasis/ 8. Rajan T.V.: Lymphatic Filariasis: A Historical Perspective. In: (Nutman T., ed.) Lymphatic Filariasis. Pp 1-4, Imperial College Press, London, 2000 9. WHO: Global programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis. Weekly epidemiological record. Progress report on mass drug administration in 2008. Geneva, 2009 10. Hills-Evans K.: Lymphatic filariasis. (2008) http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2006/Lymphatic_filariasis/index.htm 11. Gyapong J.O., et al: The use of spatial analysis in mapping the distribution of Bancroftian filariasis in four West African Countries. Ann. Trop. Med. Parasitol. 96: 695-705 (2002) 12. Pani SP., et al.: Epidemiology of lymphatic filariasis with special reference to urogenital-manifestations. Indian J Urol. 21(1): 44-49 (2005) 13. Cross, J.H.: Filarial nematodes. In: (Baron S., ed.) Medical microbiology. 1996 14. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs102/en/ 15. http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Filariasis.htm 16. http://www.nematodes.org/ 17. Scott A.L.: Lymphatic-dwelling Filariae In: (Nutman T., ed.) Lymphatic Filariasis. Pp. 5-4, Imperial College Press, London, 2000 18. Ιωαννίδης Α.: Ιατρική Παρασιτολογία και Μυκητολογία. ΟΕΔΒ. Αθήνα, 1991 19. Simonsen P.: Filariases. In: (Cook G.C., Zumla A.I., eds) Manson’s Tropical Diseases. Pp. 1477-1514, Elsevier Limited, U.K., 2009 20. Dreyer G., et al.: Pathogenesis of lymphatic disease in Bancroftian filariasis: A Clinical Perspective. Parasitol. Today 16: 544-48 (2000) 21. Fischer P., et al.: Lymphatic filariasis and Brugia timori: prospects for elimination. Trends Parasitol. 20: 351-355 (2004) 22. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1999/WHO_FIL_99.198.pdf 23. Dreyer G., et al.: Recommendations for the treatment of bancroftian filariasis in symptomless and diseased patients. Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. 35: 43-50 (2002) 24. WHO: Monitoring and epidemiological assessment. (2005) 25. Kumari A.K., et al.: Health Related Quality of Life, an appropriate indicator to assess the impact of morbidity management and disability prevention activities towards elimination of lymphatic filariasis. Filaria J. 1186/1475-2883-6-8 (2007) |
|
| Relative Papers |
Online ISSN 1011-6575