scholarly journals Current Bancroftian Filariasis Elimination on Thailand-Myanmar Border: Public Health Challenges toward Postgenomic MDA Evaluation

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adisak Bhumiratana ◽  
Apiradee Intarapuk ◽  
Surachart Koyadun ◽  
Pannamas Maneekan ◽  
Prapa Sorosjinda-Nunthawarasilp

From regional and global perspectives, Thailand has progressed toward lymphatic filariasis transmission-free zone in almost entire endemic provinces, being verified by WHO by the end of 2012 after the 5-year implementation of mass drug administration (MDA) with diethylcarbamazine and albendazole as part of the National Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (PELF) (2002–2006) and a 4-year expansion of post-MDA surveillance (2007–2010). However, Thai PELF has been challenging sensitive situations of not only border crossings of local people on Thailand-Myanmar border where focal distribution of forest- and forest fringe-related border bancroftian filariasis (BBF) is caused by nocturnally subperiodic Wuchereria bancrofti in local people living in pockets of endemic villages, but also intense cross-border migrations of Mon and Tanintharyi workers from Myanmar to Thailand who harbor nocturnally periodic W. bancrofti microfilaremic infection causing the emergence of imported bancroftian filariasis (IBF). Thus, this paper discusses the apparent issues and problems pertaining to epidemiological surveillance and postgenomic MDA evaluation for 2010–2020 convalescent BBF and IBF. In particular, the population migration linked to fitness of benzimidazole-resistant W. bancrofti population is a topic of interest in this region whether the resistance is associated with pressure of the MDA 2 drugs and the vulnerabilities epidemiologically observed in complex BBF or IBF settings.

Author(s):  
Allassane F Ouattara ◽  
Catherine M Bjerum ◽  
Méité Aboulaye ◽  
Olivier Kouadio ◽  
Vanga K Marius ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Ivermectin (IVM) plus albendazole (ALB), or IA, is widely used in mass drug administration (MDA) programs that aim to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Africa. However, IVM can cause severe adverse events in persons with heavy Loa loa infections that are common in Central Africa. ALB is safe in loiasis, but more information is needed on its efficacy for LF. This study compared the efficacy and safety of three years of semiannual treatment with ALB to annual IA in persons with bancroftian filariasis. Methods Adults with Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaremia (Mf) were randomized to receive either three annual doses of IA (N=52), six semiannual doses of ALB 400mg (N=45), or six semiannual doses of ALB 800mg (N=47). The primary outcome amicrofilaremia at 36 months. Findings IA was more effective for completely clearing Mf than ALB 400mg or ALB 800mg (79%, CI 67-91; vs. 48%, CI 32-66 and 57%, CI 41-73, respectively). Mean % reductions in Mf counts at 36 months relative to baseline tended to be greater after IA (98%, CI 88-100) than after ALB 400mg (88%, CI 78-98) and ALB 800mg (89%, CI 79-99) (P=0.07 and P=0.06, respectively). Adult worm nest numbers (assessed by ultrasound) were reduced in all treatment groups. Treatments were well tolerated. Interpretation Repeated semiannual treatment with ALB is macrofilaricidal for W. bancrofti and leads to sustained reductions in Mf counts. This is a safe and effective regimen that could be used as MDA to eliminate LF in areas ivermectin cannot be used.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Chavatte ◽  
Roland Jureen

Human lymphatic filariasis is a vector-borne disease mainly caused by the parasitic nematode Wuchereria bancrofti and transmitted worldwide within the tropical and subtropical regions. Singapore was once endemic for bancroftian filariasis but recent reports are scarce and the disease is nearly forgotten. The case report presented here reports the incidental hospital laboratory finding of an asymptomatic microfilaremia in a relapsing Plasmodium vivax imported case during a malaria treatment follow-up appointment. The parasite was identified by microscopy as W. bancrofti and retrospective investigation of the sample collected during malaria onset was found to be also positive. Additional confirmation was obtained by DNA amplification, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial cox1 gene that further related the parasite to W. bancrofti strains from the Indian region. Considering the large proportion of asymptomatic filariasis with microfilaremia, the high number of migrants and travellers arriving from the surrounding endemic countries, and the common presence of local competent mosquito vectors, Singapore remains vulnerable to the introduction, reemergence, and the spread of lymphatic filariasis. This report brings out from the shadow the potential risk of lymphatic filariasis in Singapore and could help to maintain awareness about this parasitic disease and its public health importance.


1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 1377-1383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana B. de Almeida ◽  
Maria Carmelita Maia e Silva ◽  
Cynthia Braga ◽  
David O. Freedman

ABSTRACT Individuals with clinical manifestations of lymphatic filariasis may be currently infected or not. Twenty-five individuals from aWuchereria bancrofti-endemic area of Brazil were classified as being asymptomatic microfilaremic individuals, antigenemic individuals with clinical filariasis, or nonantigenemic individuals with clinical filariasis. Intracellular cytokine staining of mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) showed that the frequency of either gamma interferon (IFN-γ)- or interleukin-4 (IL-4)-producing cells was higher in the nonantigenemic individuals with clinical filariasis than in the asymptomatic microfilaremic individuals (geometric means, 22.1 versus 10.7% [P = 0.02] and 2.9 versus 1.4% [P= 0.01], respectively). When the asymptomatic microfilaremic individuals and antigenemic individuals with clinical filariasis were grouped together to constitute all actively infected individuals, the frequency of IFN-γ-producing cells was also lower than in the nonantigenemic individuals with clinical filariasis (P= 0.04). Likewise, the frequency of IL-4-producing cells in the actively infected individuals was also lower than in the nonantigenemic individuals with clinical filariasis (P = 0.02). No differences in the frequency of IFN-γ-, IL-4-, or IL-5-producing cells in purified CD4 T lymphocytes were found among the groups. These findings suggest that the presence of antigenemia, which is an indicator of current active infection, is closely associated with the frequency of IFN-γ- and IL-4-producing cells in lymphatic filariasis. The differences found in the frequency of cytokine-producing cells among the three groups appear to be due to a subset of cells other than CD4 T cells.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. e0231541
Author(s):  
Firmain N. Yokoly ◽  
Julien B. Z. Zahouli ◽  
Aboulaye Méite ◽  
Millicent Opoku ◽  
Bernard L. Kouassi ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Richard Knight ◽  
D.H. Molyneux

Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and B. timori are mosquito-borne nematode parasites that are important causes of morbidity, disability, and social stigma in tropical and subtropical countries. Bancroftian filariasis due to W. bancrofti, which has no animal reservoir, accounts for 90% of human infections worldwide. Acute lymphatic filariasis—(1) lymphadenitis and lymphangitis—most common in the inguinal and femoral nodes; (2) acute genital—usually tender fusiform or cylindrical swelling of the spermatic cord; (3) abscess and fever—affected nodes may break down to produce an open ulcer....


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S33-S38
Author(s):  
Gilberto Fontes ◽  
Eliana Maria Mauricio da Rocha ◽  
Ronaldo Guilherme Carvalho Scholte ◽  
Rubén Santiago Nicholls

Abstract In South and Central America, lymphatic filariasis (LF) is caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, which is transmitted by Culex quinquefasciatus, the only vector species in this region. Of the seven countries considered endemic for LF in the Americas in the last decade, Costa Rica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago were removed from the World Health Organization list in 2011. The remaining countries, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guyana and Haiti, have achieved important progress in recent years. Brazil was the first country in the Americas to stop mass drug administration (MDA) and to establish post-MDA surveillance. Dominican Republic stopped MDA in all LF-endemic foci: La Ciénaga and Southwest passed the third Transmission Assessment Survey (TAS) and the Eastern focus passed TAS-1 in 2018. Haiti passed the TAS and interrupted transmission in >80% of endemic communes, achieving effective drug coverage. Guyana implemented effective coverage in MDAs in 2017 and 2018 and in 2019 scaled up the treatment for 100% of the geographical region, introducing ivermectin in the MDA in order to achieve LF elimination by the year 2026. The Americas region is on its way to eliminating LF transmission. However, efforts should be made to improve morbidity management to prevent disability of the already affected populations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 239965442110000
Author(s):  
Eeva-Kaisa Prokkola

The past decade has witnessed a shift from “open borders” policies and cross-border cooperation towards heightened border securitization and the building of border walls. In the EU context, since the migration influx of 2015–2016, many Member States have retained the re-instituted Schengen border controls intended to be temporary. Such heightened border securitization has produced high levels of anxiety among various populations and increased societal polarization. This paper focuses on the processes underpinning asylum seeker reception at the re-bordered Finnish-Swedish border and in the Finnish border town of Tornio. The asylum process is studied from the perspective of local authorities and NGO actors active in the everyday reception, care and control practices in the border securitization environment enacted in Tornio in 2015. The analysis highlights how the ‘success’ of everyday reception work at the Tornio border crossing was bound to the historical openness of the border and pre-existing relations of trust and cooperation between different actors at various scales. The paper thus provides a new understanding of the significance of borders and border crossings from the perspective of resilience and highlights some of the paradoxes of border securitization. It notes that although border closures are commonly envisioned as a direct response to forced migration, the everyday practices and capacities of the asylum reception at the Finnish-Swedish border are themselves highly dependent on pre-existing border crossings and cross-border cooperation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shingo Nishiki ◽  
Kenichi Lee ◽  
Mizue Kanai ◽  
Shu-ichi Nakayama ◽  
Makoto Ohnishi

AbstractJapan has had a substantial increase in syphilis cases since 2013. However, research on the genomic features of the Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum (TPA) strains from these cases has been limited. Here, we elucidated the genetic variations and relationships between TPA strains in Japan (detected between 2014 and 2018) and other countries by whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses, including syphilis epidemiological surveillance data and information on patient sexual orientation. Seventeen of the 20 strains in Japan were SS14- and the remaining 3 were Nichols-lineage. Sixteen of the 17 SS14-lineage strains were classified into previously reported Sub-lineage 1B. Sub-lineage 1B strains in Japan have formed distinct sub-clusters of strains from heterosexuals and strains from men who have sex with men. These strains were closely related to reported TPA strains in China, forming an East-Asian cluster. However, those strains in these countries evolved independently after diverging from their most recent common ancestor and expanded their genetic diversity during the time of syphilis outbreak in each country. The genetic difference between the TPA strains in these countries was characterized by single-nucleotide-polymorphism analyses of their penicillin binding protein genes. Taken together, our results elucidated the detailed phylogenetic features and transmission networks of syphilis.


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