Background: American Samoa successfully completed seven rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) for lymphatic filariasis (LF) from 2000-2006. The territory passed the school-based transmission assessment surveys in 2011 and 2015 but failed in 2016. One of the key challenges after the implementation of MDA is the identification of any residual hotspots of transmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: American Samoa completed seven rounds of mass drug administration from 2000-2006 as part of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF). However, resurgence was confirmed in 2016 through WHO-recommended school-based transmission assessment survey and a community-based survey. This paper uses data from the 2016 community survey to compare different spatial and non-spatial methods to characterise clustering and hotspots of LF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Under the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), American Samoa conducted 7 rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) between 2000 and 2006. The territory passed transmission assessment surveys (TASs) in 2011 (TAS-1) and 2015 (TAS-2). In 2016, the territory failed TAS-3, indicating resurgence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnder the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), American Samoa conducted mass drug administration (MDA) from 2000-2006. Despite passing Transmission Assessment Surveys (TAS) in 2011/2012 and 2015, American Samoa failed TAS-3 in 2016, with antigen (Ag) prevalence of 0.7% (95%CI 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Prevalence of lymphatic filariasis (LF) antigen in American Samoa was 16.5% in 1999. Seven rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) programmes between 2000 and 2006 reduced antigen prevalence to 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is highly prevalent in American Samoa. Community health worker (CHW) interventions may improve T2DM care and be cost-effective. Current cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) of CHW interventions have either overlooked important cost considerations or not been based on randomized clinical trials (RCTs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Under the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), American Samoa conducted seven rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) from 2000-2006. The World Health Organization recommends systematic post-MDA surveillance using Transmission Assessment Surveys (TAS) for epidemiological assessment of recent LF transmission. We compared the effectiveness of two survey designs for post-MDA surveillance: a school-based survey of children aged 6-7 years, and a community-based survey targeting people aged ≥8 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPopulation mobility has been demonstrated to contribute to the persistent transmission and global diffusion of epidemics. In the Pacific Islands, population mobility is particularly important for emerging infectious diseases, disease elimination programs, and diseases spread by close contact. The extent of population mobility between American Samoa villages, Samoa districts and other countries was investigated based on travel data collected during community surveys in American Samoa in 2010 and 2014.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Current WHO recommendations for lymphatic filariasis (LF) surveillance advise programs to implement activities to monitor for new foci of transmission after stopping mass drug administration (MDA). A current need in the global effort to eliminate LF is to standardize diagnostic tools and surveillance activities beyond the recommended transmission assessment survey (TAS).
Methodology: TAS was first conducted in American Samoa in 2011 (TAS 1) and a repeat TAS was carried out in 2015 (TAS 2).
The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) aims to eliminate the disease as a public health problem by 2020 by conducting mass drug administration (MDA) and controlling morbidity. Once elimination targets have been reached, surveillance is critical for ensuring that programmatic gains are sustained, and challenges include timely identification of residual areas of transmission. WHO guidelines encourage cost-efficient surveillance, such as integration with other population-based surveys.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In 2000, American Samoa had 16.5% prevalence of lymphatic filariasis (LF) antigenemia. Annual mass drug administration (MDA) was conducted using single-dose albendazole plus diethylcarbamazine from 2000 to 2006.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: As part of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), American Samoa conducted mass drug administration (MDA) from 2000-2006, and passed transmission assessment surveys in 2011-2012. We examined the seroprevalence and spatial epidemiology of LF post-MDA to inform strategies for ongoing surveillance and to reduce resurgence risk.
Methods: ELISA for LF antigen (Og4C3) and antibodies (Wb123, Bm14) were performed on a geo-referenced serum bank of 807 adults collected in 2010.
Leptospirosis has recently been reported as an emerging disease worldwide, and a seroprevalence study was undertaken in American Samoa to better understand the drivers of transmission. Antibodies indicative of previous exposure to leptospirosis were found in 15.5% of 807 participants, predominantly against three serovars that were not previously known to occur in American Samoa.
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