Active clinical trials for "Elephantiasis, Filarial"

The purpose of this study is to check blood samples for lymphatic filariasis to determine whether the recent Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis was successful in controlling lymphatic filariasis in areas of Egypt. Volunteers will participate in a health assessment program carried out by Ain Shams University and approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population. This program includes a brief interview and laboratory tests to detect worm parasites in participants' blood. Volunteers and family members found to have worms in their blood will be referred for treatment. This study will provide early detection of this parasitic infection and referral for prompt treatment in order to prevent spread of the infection to others. Approximately 23,500 people, 6 years of age and older, will participate per year. Study participants will include people living in areas of Egypt that are known to have the filariasis parasite. Volunteers will participate for up to 2 years.

Approximately 3,500 people will participate per year. The study population will include females and males over 5 years of age who live in filariasis endemic areas. The study will be performed in Indonesia in B. timori and W. bancrofti endemic areas over a period of 4 years. Participants will be studied only once in cross-sectional surveys. Some subjects may be included in more than one annual population survey, but this is not a longitudinal study. Purpose of the study is to evaluate different mass drug administration (MDA) regimens for lymphatic filariasis and also to study the impact of MDA on soil transmitted helminth infections (STH). MDA will administered by others (e.g., Ministry of Health). Results of this study may enhance efforts to control and eliminate these important neglected tropical diseases. The investigators will test the hypothesis that accelerated mass drug administration will be superior to annual MDA for elimination of lymphatic filariasis and for control of soil transmitted helminth infections (STH): Compare the relative impact and cost effectiveness of annual vs. twice yearly mass drug administration (MDA) for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF). Study the impact of annual vs. semiannual MDA on soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection in these populations.

Approximately 5,200 people will participate per year. The study population will include females and males over 5 years of age who live in filariasis and onchocerciasis endemic areas. Subject selection will not be based on health status. Two sites will be studied, and each study will last for 4 years. Participants will be studied only once in cross-sectional surveys. Some subjects may be included in more than one annual population survey, but this is not a longitudinal study. Investigators will compare annual and semiannual mass drug administration (MDA) for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, and investigators will compare the impact of these MDA schedules on soil transmitted helminth infections. MDA will be administered by others (Liberian Ministry of Health or Liberian Institute of Biomedical Research). The investigators will test the hypothesis that semiannual mass drug administration (MDA) is superior to annual MDA for elimination of lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis and for control of soil transmitted helminth (STH) infections. Compare the relative impact and cost effectiveness of annual vs. twice yearly mass drug administration (MDA) for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in these populations. Compare the relative impact and cost effectiveness of annual vs. twice yearly mass drug administration (MDA) for elimination of onchocerciasis in these populations. Study the impact of annual vs. semiannual MDA on soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection in these populations. Continuation Activities (2019/2020): Additional one-time cross-sectional surveys will be completed in the Harper site in Maryland district in 2019 and in Lofa in 2020 to measure the long-term impact of MDA on W. bancrofti, O. volvulus, and on STH infection parameters following these cumulative 7-9 rounds of MDA since the baseline survey taken in 2013. Since the last DOLF surveys (3rd follow-ups) in these sites in 2016 & 2017, respectively, there have been a total of 3 annual rounds of MDA in both areas. These additional surveys will recruit 2,500 participants in the Maryland area villages and 3,200 in the Lofa area villages.

Lymphatic filariasis is a neglected tropical disease earmarked for elimination as a public health problem by the year 2020. Since the year 2000, the Global Program for the Elimination of LF has together with endemic countries undertaken preventive chemotherapy in endemic districts to entire at risk populations. In Ghana, treatment of LF is based on the drugs Ivermectin and Albendazole. Remarkable achievements have been made towards the control and elimination of LF in Ghana. However, there remain programmatic and implementation challenges that need to be addressed in order to ensure that the gains made over the last 15 years are sustained. Among these challenges is the persistent transmission of LF in some districts despite more than 10 years of MDA. Furthermore, LF cases have been identified in communities from eight districts, previously considered as non-endemic. The extent of endemicity in these new districts is unknown. In order to achieve the 2020 elimination targets, it is crucial to determine the distribution and infection prevalence of LF in these districts. Evaluating these districts for LF endemicity will help the implementation of appropriate strategies towards achieving the 2020 target. This protocol describes the surveys to be undertaken in Ghana in 3 of these districts. The current standard mapping methodologies of LF have the potential to miss LF endemic villages, due to the focal nature of LF. As such, in order to enhance the chances to detect endemic communities, this survey will use a combination of the WHO EPI cluster survey and current LF mapping protocols. 15 communities will be selected in each district, with 100 survey participants per community. Survey participants will be screened for LF infection using immunological and parasitological methods. Study participants will also be tested for onchocerciasis infection using immunological and parasitological methods in districts where LF and oncho are co-endemic. The information from this survey will be combined with the data on the LF vectors and their infection status in the survey areas and relevant data available at the Ghana Health Service to: determine whether LF intervention strategies are indicated in these three districts, design, as indicated, appropriate intervention strategies to achieve LF elimination in these three districts by 2020 inform, if indicated, co-implementation of control, monitoring and evaluation for LF and onchocerciasis in the two onchocerciasis endemic districts extract lessons learnt for the design and implementation of surveys in the other districts currently considered non-endemic but where LF cases have been reported. New rapid diagnostic tests have been developed to assess infection Lf and onchocerciasis infection prevalence at the time of the decision to stop MDA and for surveillance for new infections once MDA has been stopped. These include Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) for antibodies against the W. bancrofti antigen WB123 and the O. volvulus antigen Ov16. These tests still require large scale field validation. Provided additional funding becomes available, this survey will be used to obtain field validation data.

Appropriate targeting of interventions for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that require innovative and intensified disease management (IDM) requires accurate data on the distribution of these diseases within endemic countries. In most instances however, existing case register data generated through national health management information systems or during programmatic activities do not provide an accurate representation of the true burden of IDM NTDs. This study will pilot a cluster randomized screening and confirmation survey to estimate the burden of IDM NTDs characterised by skin conditions associated with long-term disfigurement and disability. These include: leprosy, Buruli ulcer, yaws and lymphoedema and hydrocele resulting from lymphatic filariasis. The survey is being conducted in one county in Liberia. The protocol involves community-level screening by community health volunteers trained to use photo-based visual aids to recognise changes in the skin that broadly indicates patent infection. All suspected cases will be verified in their homes by local and national experts trained in the diagnosis of skin-presenting NTDs. The survey will generate accurate district-level prevalence estimates of leprosy, yaws, Buruli ulcer and lymphatic filariasis-associated lymphoedema and hydrocele and quantify the total costs and cost per case detected. In addition, results from this protocol will be compared with routinely collected case register data, to better understand how health system records reflect the true disease situation on the ground and quantify unmet need.

This prospective study will enroll and follow 60 loiasis patients with high worm burden to monitor the spontaneous release of filarial antigen in peripheral blood. This study will define the cross-reactive antigen profile of persons with spontaneous loiasis antigenemia, and determine whether it varies with time.