Operational research to inform post-validation surveillance of lymphatic filariasis in Tonga study protocol: History of lymphatic filariasis elimination, rational, objectives, and design.

Autor: Lawford H; UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia., Tukia '; Public Health Division, Ministry of Health, Nuku'alofa, Tonga., Takai J; Public Health Division, Ministry of Health, Nuku'alofa, Tonga., Sheridan S; UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.; National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Sydney, NSW, Australia., Lau CL; UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2024 Aug 20; Vol. 19 (8), pp. e0307331. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 20 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307331
Abstrakt: Background: Lymphatic filariasis (LF), a mosquito-borne helminth infection, is an important cause of chronic disability globally. The World Health Organization has validated eight Pacific Island countries as having eliminated lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem, but there are limited data to support an evidence-based approach to post-validation surveillance (PVS). Tonga was validated as having eliminated LF in 2017 but no surveillance has been conducted since 2015. This paper describes a protocol for an operational research project investigating different PVS methods in Tonga to provide an evidence base for national and regional PVS strategies.
Methods: Programmatic baseline surveys and Transmission Assessment Surveys conducted between 2000-2015 were reviewed to identify historically 'high-risk' and 'low-risk' schools and communities. 'High-risk' were those with LF antigen (Ag)-positive individuals recorded in more than one survey, whilst 'low-risk' were those with no recorded Ag-positives. The outcome measure for ongoing LF transmission will be Ag-positivity, diagnosed using Alere™ Filariasis Test Strips. A targeted study will be conducted in May-July 2024 including: (i) high and low-risk schools and communities, (ii) boarding schools, and (iii) patients attending a chronic-disease clinic. We estimate a total sample size of 2,010 participants.
Conclusions: Our methodology for targeted surveillance of suspected 'high-risk' populations using historical survey data can be adopted by countries when designing their PVS strategies. The results of this study will allow us to understand the current status of LF in Tonga and will be used to develop the next phase of activities.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Lawford et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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