School-based combined mass drug administration for soil-transmitted helminthiases and schistosomiasis among school-age children: lessons from two co-endemic areas in the Philippines

Mass drug administration (MDA) to the most risky population including school-age children (SAC) is the central strategy to control soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection. The present study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of STHs reinfection three months posttreatment and associated risk factors among SAC in Chencha district. A cross-sectional study design was employed from April 20 to May 5, 2015, to enroll 408 SAC. Structured questionnaire and Kato-Katz thick smear technique were used to interview parents or guardians and quantify the number of eggs per gram of stool. Pearson chi-square and logistic regression were used to assess the association between predictor variable and STH reinfection. The prevalence of STHs within three months of mass chemotherapy among SAC was 36.8% which is 93.4% of the prevalence (39.4%) before treatment. The estimated prevalence of reinfection (95%CI) forAscaris lumbricoides,Trichuris trichiura, and hookworms was 23.8% (21.1–28.2), 16.2% (12.7–20.1), and 1.0% (0.3–2.5), respectively. Children of merchant fathers were more likely to be reinfected by STHs in Chencha district. In conclusion, there is rapid reinfection after mass chemotherapy among SAC in Chencha district. Further studies should be carried out to generate cost efficient methods that can supplement mass drug administration to accelerate the control of STHs.

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A Systematic Review and Metanalyis of Soil Transmitted Helminths Infections Among Preschool and School-age Children in Ethiopia: Evaluation of Neglected Tropica Diseases (NTDS) Elimination Program by 2020

10.21203/rs.3.rs-32212/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Legese Chelkeba ◽

Tsegaye Melaku ◽

Daniel Emana ◽

Worku Jimma

Keyword(s):

Drug Administration ◽

Mass Drug Administration ◽

Intestinal Parasites ◽

School Age Children ◽

School Age ◽

Amhara Region ◽

Soil Transmitted Helminths ◽

Tigray Region ◽

Predominant Species ◽

Risk Zones

Abstract Background: Comprehensive nationwide on prevalence, geographic distribution of different species and time trends of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide a summary and location of the available data on STHs infection among preschool and school-age children in Ethiopia. Methods: The search were carried out in Medline via PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar on data published between 1995 to Fabruary 2020 for studies describing rate of STHs infection among preschool and school-age in Ethiopian. We followed Patient, intervention, Comparsion and Outcome (PICO) approach to identify the studies. Endnote citation manager software version X9 for Windows was utilized to collect and organize search outcomes (into relevant and irrelevant studies) and for removal duplicate articles . We conducted meta-regression to understand the trends and the source of heterogeneity and pooled the prevalence using ‘metaprop’ command using STATA software version 14.Results: A total of 29,311 of the 61,690 children examined during the period under review were infected with one or more species of intestinal parasites yielding an overall prevalence of 48 % (95%CI: 43-53%). The overall pooled estimate of STHs was 33% (95% CI: 28-38%). The prevalence was 44% (95%CI : 31% - 58%) in SNNPR, 34%((95%CI : 28% - 41%) in Amhara region, 31% (95%CI : 19% - 43%) in Oromia region and 10% (95%CI : 7% - 12%) in Tigray region. Soil-transmitted helminths infection rate has been decreasing from 44% (95% CI:30-57%) pre-Mass Drug Administration (MDA) era (1997-2012) to 30% (95% CI:25-34%) post-MDA (2013-2020), although statistically not significant (p = 0.45). A. lumbricoides was the predominant species with a prevalence of 17%. Conclusion: Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region , Amhara and Oromia regions carry the highest burden and are categorized to Moderate Risk Zones (MRZ) and therefore, requiring mass drug administration (MDA) once annually with Albendazole or Mebendazole. Prevalence of SHTs decreased after MDA compared to before MDA, but the decline was not statistically significant. A. lumbricoides was the predominant species of STHs among preschool and school-age children in Ethiopia.

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PREVALENCE THRESHOLDS THAT SHOULD BE APPLIED IN SCHISTOSOMIASIS MASS DRUG ADMINISTRATION PRGROGRAMMES: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

10.1101/2021.05.10.21256643 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Danso-Appiah ◽

Amadou Djirmay Garba ◽

Nathan C Lo ◽

Massimiliano Orso ◽

Kwadwo Owusu Akuffo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Drug Administration ◽

Mass Drug Administration ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

School Age Children ◽

School Age ◽

Intensity Of Infection ◽

Global Prevalence

Background WHO-recommended prevalence thresholds for deciding schistosomiasis mass drug administration (MDA) are based on anecdotal evidence and unclear. Objectives This systematic review and meta-analysis commissioned by the WHO, as part of its new schistosomiasis evidence-based guideline development, was to generate a single and global prevalence threshold that should be applied in MDA programmes. Methods We searched several databases from 1979 to 31st March 2021 without language restriction. Two reviewers selected studies, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias using relevant risk of bias tools and resolved disagreements through discussion. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines. Data were analysed and presented as prevalence reduction (PR) and relative risk (RR) for dichotomous outcomes or mean difference for continuous outcomes with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Meta-regression of observations on prevalence rates and intensity of infection of MDA programmes and sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the results to the risk of bias components were performed. Evidence on benefits, harms, values, preferences, compliance, acceptability, equity and feasibility were also assessed. The overall level of evidence was graded using GRADE. Results Out of 1,232 studies retrieved, 38 studies met our inclusion criteria and 34 studies were included in the meta-analysis. No direct relation was observed between prevalence and intensity of infection. Praziquantel reduced prevalence of S. haematobium in school age children (SAC) at 12 months (RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.52; 8 studies, n=37,868); at 24 months (RR 0.30; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.52; 7 studies; n=37107); at 36 months (RR 0.39, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.71; 5 studies, n=28,146). There was no significant reduction in prevalence at 48 months (2 studies, n=10,954). For S. mansoni, there were reductions in prevalence at 12 months (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.69; 14 studies, n=86,073); 24 months (RR 0.46; 95% CI 0.32 to 0.66; 14 studies; n=83,721);36 months (RR 0.44, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.58; 7 studies, n=70,933) and at 48 months (RR 0.25, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.59; 5 studies; n=27,483). Further analyses were performed from a series of created prevalence thresholds of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30% and ≥40% which showed differences in effect of MDA when each of the thresholds was applied. For annual MDA of school age children (SAC), school-based treatment (SBT) appears to perform better than community-wide treatment (CWT) in terms of prevalence reduction. For the different schistosome species, the model suggests, using the same prevalence threshold, it will take shorter time to reach elimination for S. haematobium than S. mansoni; annual MDA using SBT approach for S. haematobium will require about 10 years to achieve elimination whereas it will take over 10 years to around 15 years to achieve elimination for S. mansoni. Conclusion The evidence presented in this systematic review suggests that 10% prevalence should be used as the global prevalence threshold for implementing MDA in endemic countries.

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Schistosomiasis in School Age Children in Sierra Leone After 6 Years of Mass Drug Administration With Praziquantel

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2019.00001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yakuba M. Bah ◽

Jusufu Paye ◽

Mohamed S. Bah ◽

Abdulai Conteh ◽

Sam Saffa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sierra Leone ◽

Drug Administration ◽

Mass Drug Administration ◽

School Age Children ◽

School Age

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A Cross-sectional Analysis of Facebook Comments to Study Public Perception of the Mass Drug Administration Program in the Philippines

International Journal of Health Policy and Management ◽

10.34172/ijhpm.2020.55 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ryan V. Labana ◽

Veeranoot Nissapatorn ◽

Kristel Joy S. Cada ◽

Khristine L. Sandoval

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Drug Administration ◽

Mass Drug Administration ◽

Public Perception ◽

Negative Impact ◽

The Philippines ◽

School Age Children ◽

News Story ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Cross Sectional

Mass Drug Administration (MDA) of albendazole is being implemented in the Philippines to eliminate soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) among school-age children (SAC). The first round of MDA for the school year 2019-2020 was suspended in the province of Surigao del Norte due to a reported death of a student after deworming. It was broadcasted on a national television and the story was then posted on Facebook. We used structured and simple nature of social media research to study public perception of the MDA program after the controversial issue in the Philippines. The news story was assessed, and the Facebook comments were analyzed. A large portion of the Facebook comments expressed a declining trust of the Filipinos toward MDA. The negative impact could be attributed to the public-initiated discussion and sharing of comments with no solid evidence in Facebook. This study showed a possible threat to the successful implementation of the program if not properly managed. The Department of Health (DOH) should be able to cope with the developing landscape of public perception during the era of social media.

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Health and Education Officials’ Perspectives on the Impact of Typhoon Haiyan on Mass Drug Administration for Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections in the Philippines

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2020.34 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Eva Chernoff ◽

Gina Silverstein ◽

John Paul Caesar R delos Trinos ◽

Peter Veldkamp ◽

Judy C Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Administration ◽

Mass Drug Administration ◽

Simple Procedure ◽

Health Department ◽

The Philippines ◽

School Age Children ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Local Health ◽

Middle Income ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACT Objectives: In the Philippines, morbidity control of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections is done through mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelmintics to school-age children (SAC). In 2013, the Philippines was devastated by the deadliest cyclone ever recorded, Typhoon Haiyan. The study aimed to understand the impact of Typhoon Haiyan on the MDA of anthelmintics to SAC in the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo in the Philippines from the perspectives of local health and education officials. Methods: The study was conducted in the municipalities of Panay and Pilar in Capiz and the municipalities of Estancia and Sara in Iloilo, areas that were devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. Qualitative, semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with 16 total participants, which included officials of the Department of Health, Department of Education, and concerned local government units. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded in an open, iterative manner. Codes were reviewed to identify patterns and themes. Results: Participants described the following themes: (1) their perception that the typhoon had no effect on the MDA program or on resources necessary to complete the program; (2) the program’s simple design allowed for 1-time administration to a pre-assembled population; (3) the program allowed a sense of community cohesiveness; (4) the program served as a vehicle for altruism, particularly regarding helping needy children, in this time of calamity. Conclusions: Our informants perceived that the MDA program in Region VI was not affected by Typhoon Haiyan. They attributed the resilience to the program’s simple procedure, attitudes of altruism, program importance, and community cohesiveness. Despite Typhoon Haiyan’s mass destruction of infrastructure and livelihood leading to incredible challenges, mobilization of the community allowed for the continuation and successful implementation of the MDA program. The experience of Region VI may serve as a model for other low- and middle-income countries prone to natural disasters.

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