Clear evidence that Lymphatic Filariasis (LF, commonly known as elephantiasis) can be eliminated is reported in the March 25 issue of The Lancet. LF is one of the world's most disfiguring and disabling parasitic diseases, and the target of one of the largest global public health programmes using mass drug administration (MDA), according to a GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceuticals release.
Commenting on the data, Professor David Molyneux of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine says, "In this landmark publication, new data from the national programme in Egypt show that we can, using the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended strategy of an annual drug distribution, end the cycle of transmission of lymphatic filariasis by mosquitoes."
LF has plagued Egypt since the time of the pharaohs; yet this simple strategy - to provide diethylcarbamazine (DEC) plus albendazole once a year for five years to the majority of people in affected communities - reduces infection rates, leading to elimination of the disease.
Gary Weil, senior author and professor of medicine and molecular microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri commented, "Our assessments suggest that the Egyptian campaign to eliminate LF, which was implemented by the Egyptian Ministry of Population and Health, has achieved its goals in most areas of the country."
Using several tests, Egyptian scientists were able to assess infection and transmission parameters over the five years of the mass drug administration. All the tests revealed sharp declines. For example, community parasite loads (a broad measure of infection) declined by more than 90% after MDA; antibody tests in 5 year old school children showed that levels of exposure to infection declined by 99 -100%.
LF threatens over one billion people in 83 countries. Approximately 120 million people are infected with the parasites, 40 million of whom have clinical symptoms of the disease. The Global Alliance to Eliminate LF was formed with the support of the pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Merck to help countries with LF respond. GSK has donated over 440 million albendazole tablets to date, which serve as a cornerstone of the programme, stated the release.
LF is caused by a microscopic, parasitic worm that invades the human lymphatic system. The disease is spread by mosquitoes that carry the filarial worms Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori.