Ivermectin and diethylcarbamazine (DEC) are used in mass treatment programs for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis because of their strong effects on microfilaremia. However, the effects of treatment on adult worms and the degree of individual variation in efficacy are unclear. We analyzed series of microfilaria (Mf) counts from individuals treated with a single dose of 400 microg/kg ivermectin or 6 mg/kg DEC (N = 23 in each group; 1 year follow-up). For each individual, we estimated the microfilaricidal effect and the reduction in overall Mf production (e.g., caused by death or sterilization of worms, or inhibited Mf release from the female worm uterus). Ivermectin on average killed 96% of Mf and reduced Mf production by 82%. DEC killed 57% of Mf and reduced Mf production by 67%, with some individuals responding very poorly. The strong reduction in overall Mf production is good news for control of lymphatic filariasis, but the prospects of elimination will be diminished if part of the population systematically responds poorly to treatment.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Implementation of Mass Drug Administration for Lymphatic Filariasis in Madagascar: The Progress, Effectiveness and Financial Savings of Integrating into an Existing Polio Campaign.
Res Rep Trop Med
December 2024
Madagascar Country Office, World Health Organization, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Introduction: This paper presents (a) the progress made towards achieving the 2023 Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign goals, (b) the estimated financial savings resulting from integrating LF MDA into Polio immunization campaigns, and (c) the best practices, challenges, and recommendations.
Methods: In 2023, 21,336,057 people in 83 districts were affected by LF and required Preventive Chemotherapy (PC). The National NTD Control Programme (NTDCP) conducted three phases of LF MDA campaigns in those districts.
Tropical eosinophilia: Case series on varying presentations.
J Family Med Prim Care
October 2024
Department of General Medicine, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
Eosinophilia can be due to both infectious and non-infectious causes, many of which may be clinically indistinguishable. Filariasis, a tropical and subtropical infection, is caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia timori (B. timori), and Brugia malayi.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn Overview on Antifilarial Efficacy of Heterocyclic Motifs Encompassing Synthetic Strategies, SAR, and Commercialized Medications.
Curr Top Med Chem
November 2024
ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi - 110077, India.
Filariasis is one of the oldest, most dangerous, debilitating, disfiguring diseases and often ignores tropical disorders. It presents with a range of clinical symptoms, a low death rate, and a high morbidity rate, which contributes to social discrimination. This condition has major effects on people's socioeconomic circumstances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerformance characteristics of STANDARD Q Filariasis Antigen test (QFAT) to detect filarial antigens of Wuchereria bancrofti in the field.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
September 2024
ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre, Puducherry, India.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated the performance of the Q Filariasis Antigen Test (QFAT) method versus the WHO-recommended Filariasis Test Strip (FTS) for detecting Wuchereria bancrofti in Karnataka, India, as part of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF).
- A total of 1227 individuals aged 20 and older were tested with both methods during an epidemiological survey, and the results showed that QFAT detected 299 positives while FTS found 310 positives.
- QFAT demonstrated high sensitivity (95.5%) and specificity (99.7%), and the results were nearly perfectly aligned with FTS, indicated by a strong Cohen
Imported Loiasis at a Clinical Reference Center in Germany: A Retrospective Case Series.
Am J Trop Med Hyg
September 2024
Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine and I Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Loiasis is a rarely imported infectious disease that is often difficult to diagnose and treat. Here we describe clinical features and treatment outcomes of 11 patients with imported loiasis seen at a German reference center between 2013 and 2023. Clinical presentations varied by patient origin, with eye-worm migration and ophthalmological symptoms being more common among patients from endemic areas and Calabar swelling, subcutaneous swelling, and pruritus more prevalent among returning travelers from nonendemic regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!