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Introduction Delivering preventive chemotherapy through mass drug administration (MDA) is a central approach in controlling or eliminating several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Treatment coverage, a primary indicator of MDA performance, can be measured through routinely reported programmatic data or population-based coverage evaluation surveys. Reported coverage is often the easiest and least expensive way to estimate coverage; however, it is prone to inaccuracies due to errors in data compilation and imprecise denominators, and in some cases measures treatments offered as opposed to treatments swallowed.Objective Analyses presented here aimed to understand (1) how often coverage calculated using routinely reported data and survey data would lead programme managers to make the same programmatic decisions; (2) the magnitude and direction of the difference between these two estimates, and (3) whether there is meaningful variation by region, age group or country.Methods We analysed and compared reported and surveyed treatment coverage data from 214 MDAs implemented between 2008 and 2017 in 15 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Routinely reported treatment coverage was compiled using data reported by national NTD programmes to donors, either directly or via NTD implementing partners, following the implementation of a district-level MDA campaign; coverage was calculated by dividing the number of individuals treated by a population value, which is typically based on national census projections and occasionally community registers. Surveyed treatment coverage came from post-MDA community-based coverage evaluation surveys, which were conducted as per standardised WHO recommended methodology.Results Coverage estimates using routine reporting and surveys gave the same result in terms of whether the minimum coverage threshold was reached in 72% of the MDAs surveyed in the Africa region and in 52% in the Asia region. The reported coverage value was within ±10 percentage points of the surveyed coverage value in 58/124 of the surveyed MDAs in the Africa region and 19/77 in the Asia region. Concordance between routinely reported and surveyed coverage estimates was 64% for the total population and 72% for school-age children. The study data showed variation across countries in the number of surveys conducted as well as the frequency with which there was concordance between the two coverage estimates.Conclusions Programme managers must grapple with making decisions based on imperfect information, balancing needs for accuracy with cost and available capacity. The study shows that for many of the MDAs surveyed, based on the concordance with respect to reaching the minimum coverage thresholds, the routinely reported data were accurate enough to make programmatic decisions. Where coverage surveys do show a need to improve accuracy of routinely reported results, NTD programme managers should use various tools and approaches to strengthen data quality in order to use data for decision-making to achieve NTD control and elimination goals.

Human helmintiasis is a neglected disease with significant economic impacts caused by its effects on performance and cognition. The burden of many helminth infections is not well understood due to the lack of progress in detecting low-intensity infection in elimination programs. Furthermore, the decision for individual and community treatments, as well as the community-based control program evaluation, obviously depends on the technics used for parasitological diagnostic. A well-established diagnostic technic will be beneficial to detect and eliminate the disease. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the performance of FLOTAC and FECT technics for detecting helminth infections in human stool. A total of 149 fecal specimens were collected from schoolchildren in Nangapanda village, Ende District, East Nusa Tenggara Province in 2012. The sensitivity of both technics was analyzed using the kappa analysis. Positive results from both technics were used as the gold standard. The sensitivity of FLOTAC for diagnosing T. Trichiura, A. lumbricoides and hookworm infections were 100%, 100%, and 82%, respectively, while the sensitivity of FECT was 80%, 7%, and 18%, respectively. FLOTAC yielded considerably higher mean faecal egg counts (11,452, 1,038, and 19 eggs per gram stool (EPG) for A. lumbricoides, T. Trichiura, and hookworm). FLOTAC technique was considerably more sensitive than FECT in diagnosing soil-transmitted helminth infections. In conclusion, FLOTAC can be used as a diagnosis tool for future helminth control programs.

The strategy to control soil-transmitted helminth (STH) is through periodic deworming to eliminate infective worms among children. Helminthiasis is known to impair the nutrition and physical status of infected children. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and relationship between nutritional status and infection among School-Age Children (SAC) following deworming campaigns in Public Elementary School 6 Cilincing, North Jakarta, Indonesia. This study was a cross-sectional analytical observation on 82 children sampled using the Kato Katz approach during the period of August and November 2019. Nutritional status was determined using the standardized AnthroPlus Software while the Kolmogorov Smirnov test was used to statistically analyze the data. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on hygiene and deworming pill consumption. Results showed that 7.3% of 82 children were infected with at least one of the following STH parasites: Ascaris lumbricoides accounts (n=3, 3.7%), Trichuris trichiura (n=2, 2.4%), and Enterobius vermicularis (n=1, 1.2%). Anemia was defined as a hemoglobin concentration of

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.