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Burgert-Brucker CR, Zoerhoff KL, Headland M, Shoemaker EA, Stelmach R, Karim MJ, Batcho W, Bougouma C, Bougma R, Benjamin Didier B, Georges N, Marfo B, Lemoine JF, Pangaribuan HU, Wijayanti E, Coulibaly YI, Doumbia SS, Rimal P, Salissou AB, Bah Y, Mwingira U, Nshala A, Muheki E, Shott J, Yevstigneyeva V, Ndayishimye E, Baker M, Kraemer J, Brady M. Risk factors associated with failing pre-transmission assessment surveys (pre-TAS) in lymphatic filariasis elimination programs: Results of a multi-country analysis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008301. [PMID: 32479495 PMCID: PMC7289444 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Achieving elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem requires a minimum of five effective rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) and demonstrating low prevalence in subsequent assessments. The first assessments recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) are sentinel and spot-check sites—referred to as pre-transmission assessment surveys (pre-TAS)—in each implementation unit after MDA. If pre-TAS shows that prevalence in each site has been lowered to less than 1% microfilaremia or less than 2% antigenemia, the implementation unit conducts a TAS to determine whether MDA can be stopped. Failure to pass pre-TAS means that further rounds of MDA are required. This study aims to understand factors influencing pre-TAS results using existing programmatic data from 554 implementation units, of which 74 (13%) failed, in 13 countries. Secondary data analysis was completed using existing data from Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda. Additional covariate data were obtained from spatial raster data sets. Bivariate analysis and multilinear regression were performed to establish potential relationships between variables and the pre-TAS result. Higher baseline prevalence and lower elevation were significant in the regression model. Variables statistically significantly associated with failure (p-value ≤0.05) in the bivariate analyses included baseline prevalence at or above 5% or 10%, use of Filariasis Test Strips (FTS), primary vector of Culex, treatment with diethylcarbamazine-albendazole, higher elevation, higher population density, higher enhanced vegetation index (EVI), higher annual rainfall, and 6 or more rounds of MDA. This paper reports for the first time factors associated with pre-TAS results from a multi-country analysis. This information can help countries more effectively forecast program activities, such as the potential need for more rounds of MDA, and prioritize resources to ensure adequate coverage of all persons in areas at highest risk of failing pre-TAS. Achieving elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem requires a minimum of five rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) and being able to demonstrate low prevalence in several subsequent assessments. LF elimination programs implement sentinel and spot-check site assessments, called pre-TAS, to determine whether districts are eligible to implement more rigorous population-based surveys to determine whether MDA can be stopped or if further rounds are required. Reasons for failing pre-TAS are not well understood and have not previously been examined with data compiled from multiple countries. For this analysis, we analyzed data from routine USAID and WHO reports from Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda. In a model that included multiple variables, high baseline prevalence and lower elevation were significant. In models comparing only one variable to the outcome, the following were statistically significantly associated with failure: higher baseline prevalence at or above 5% or 10%, use of the FTS, primary vector of Culex, treatment with diethylcarbamazine-albendazole, lower elevation, higher population density, higher Enhanced Vegetation Index, higher annual rainfall, and six or more rounds of mass drug administration. These results can help national programs plan MDA more effectively, e.g., by focusing resources on areas with higher baseline prevalence and/or lower elevation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kathryn L. Zoerhoff
- Global Health Division, RTI International, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Maureen Headland
- Global Health Division, RTI International, Washington, DC, United States of America
- Global Health, Population, and Nutrition, FHI 360, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Erica A. Shoemaker
- Global Health Division, RTI International, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Rachel Stelmach
- Global Health Division, RTI International, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | | | - Wilfrid Batcho
- National Control Program of Communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Cotonou, Benin
| | - Clarisse Bougouma
- Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program, Ministère de la Santé, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
| | - Roland Bougma
- Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Program, Ministère de la Santé, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
| | - Biholong Benjamin Didier
- National Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis Control Program, Ministry of Health, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - Nko'Ayissi Georges
- National Onchocerciasis and Lymphatic Filariasis Control Program, Ministry of Health, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - Benjamin Marfo
- Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana
| | | | | | - Eksi Wijayanti
- National Institute Health Research & Development, Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Yaya Ibrahim Coulibaly
- Filariasis Unit, International Center of Excellence in Research, Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology, Bamako, Mali
| | - Salif Seriba Doumbia
- Filariasis Unit, International Center of Excellence in Research, Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology, Bamako, Mali
| | - Pradip Rimal
- Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Department of Health Service, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | | | - Yukaba Bah
- National Neglected Tropical Disease Program, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone
| | - Upendo Mwingira
- Neglected Tropical Disease Control Programme, National Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Andreas Nshala
- IMA World Health/Tanzania NTD Control Programme, Uppsala University, & TIBA Fellow, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Edridah Muheki
- Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Joseph Shott
- Division of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Office of Infectious Diseases, Bureau for Global Health, USAID, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Violetta Yevstigneyeva
- Division of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Office of Infectious Diseases, Bureau for Global Health, USAID, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Egide Ndayishimye
- Global Health, Population, and Nutrition, FHI 360, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Margaret Baker
- Global Health Division, RTI International, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - John Kraemer
- Global Health Division, RTI International, Washington, DC, United States of America
- Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Molly Brady
- Global Health Division, RTI International, Washington, DC, United States of America
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