1. Does Increasing Treatment Frequency Address Suboptimal Responses to Ivermectin for the Control and Elimination of River Blindness?
- Author
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Nana-Kwadwo Biritwum, Michael D. Wilson, Ebenezer Owusu, Ernest Tawiah Gyan, Mike Y. Osei-Atweneboana, Daniel A. Boakye, Edward Jenner Tetevi, Martin Walker, Kwadwo K. Frempong, Robert Cheke, María-Gloria Basáñez, Mark J. Taylor, and The Royal Society
- Subjects
Microbiology (medical) ,Adult ,Male ,030231 tropical medicine ,Prevalence ,Microbiology ,Ghana ,Parasite Load ,Filariasis ,Cohort Studies ,QH301 ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,0302 clinical medicine ,Ivermectin ,elimination ,Onchocerciasis, Ocular ,parasitic diseases ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,skin and connective tissue diseases ,Articles and Commentaries ,Skin ,biology ,integumentary system ,Antiparasitic Agents ,business.industry ,onchocerciasis ,11 Medical And Health Sciences ,biannual treatment ,06 Biological Sciences ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,suboptimal responses ,Onchocerca volvulus ,Antiparasitic agent ,3. Good health ,Infectious Diseases ,Treatment Outcome ,Cohort ,Immunology ,Onchocerciasis ,business ,Demography ,medicine.drug ,Cohort study - Abstract
The first 3 years of biannual ivermectin distribution in Ghana have substantially reduced Onchocerca volvulus infection levels in 10 sentinel communities, but longitudinal analysis indicates that some communities are still consistently responding suboptimally to treatment, with implications for onchocerciasis elimination., Background. Several African countries have adopted a biannual ivermectin distribution strategy in some foci to control and eliminate onchocerciasis. In 2010, the Ghana Health Service started biannual distribution to combat transmission hotspots and suboptimal responses to treatment. We assessed the epidemiological impact of the first 3 years of this strategy and quantified responses to ivermectin over 2 consecutive rounds of treatment in 10 sentinel communities. Methods. We evaluated Onchocerca volvulus community microfilarial intensity and prevalence in persons aged ≥20 years before the first, second, and fifth (or sixth) biannual treatment rounds using skin snip data from 956 participants. We used longitudinal regression modeling to estimate rates of microfilarial repopulation of the skin in a cohort of 217 participants who were followed up over the first 2 rounds of biannual treatment. Results. Biannual treatment has had a positive impact, with substantial reductions in infection intensity after 4 or 5 rounds in most communities. We identified 3 communities—all having been previously recognized as responding suboptimally to ivermectin—with statistically significantly high microfilarial repopulation rates. We did not find any clear association between microfilarial repopulation rate and the number of years of prior intervention, coverage, or the community level of infection. Conclusions. The strategy of biannual ivermectin treatment in Ghana has reduced O. volvulus microfilarial intensity and prevalence, but suboptimal responses to treatment remain evident in a number of previously and consistently implicated communities. Whether increasing the frequency of treatment will be sufficient to meet the World Health Organization's 2020 elimination goals remains uncertain.
- Published
- 2016