Global elimination of lymphatic filariasis

Global Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis: A “Mass Uprising of Compassion”

Hospitals and medical centers often cite compassion as a core value in their mission statements. In contrast, the importance of compassion in global health is rarely acknowledged, even though it is a significant source of motivation and sustenance for those working in the field. The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) provides an illustrative example of the role and promi...

Global Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis: Addressing the Public Health Problem

On July 15, 1997, two months after the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution calling for the ‘‘global elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem,’’ a small group of public health leaders and scientists gathered at Magnetic Island, near Townsville, Australia. They were meeting to consider the elements of a program to achieve such a lofty goal. The evening befor...

Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis in The Gambia

BACKGROUND The prevalence of Wuchereria bancrofti, which causes lymphatic filariasis (LF) in The Gambia was among the highest in Africa in the 1950s. However, surveys conducted in 1975 and 1976 revealed a dramatic decline in LF endemicity in the absence of mass drug administration (MDA). The decline in prevalence was partly attributed to a significant reduction in mosquito density through the w...

Global programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis.

Effectiveness of a triple-drug regimen for global elimination of lymphatic filariasis: a modelling study.

BACKGROUND Lymphatic filariasis is targeted for elimination as a public health problem by 2020. The principal approach used by current programmes is annual mass drug administration with two pairs of drugs with a good safety profile. However, one dose of a triple-drug regimen (ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole) has been shown to clear the transmissible stage of the helminth complet...