The impact of repeated rounds of mass drug administration with diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole on bancroftian filariasis in Papua New Guinea

• Published in: PLoS neglected tropical diseases 2008-12, Vol.2 (12), p.e344-e344
• Main Authors: Weil, Gary J, Kastens, Will, Susapu, Melinda, Laney, Sandra J, Williams, Steven A, King, Christopher L, Kazura, James W, Bockarie, Moses J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aging; Albendazole - administration & dosage; Albendazole - therapeutic use; Animals; Anopheles - parasitology; Anopheles punctulatus; Anthelmintics - administration & dosage; Anthelmintics - therapeutic use; Antibodies; Antigens; Antigens, Helminth - blood; Child; Culicidae - parasitology; Diethylcarbamazine - administration & dosage; Diethylcarbamazine - therapeutic use; DNA, Helminth - genetics; Drug dosages; Drug Therapy, Combination; Elephantiasis, Filarial - epidemiology; Elephantiasis, Filarial - immunology; Elephantiasis, Filarial - prevention & control; Filariasis - blood; Filariasis - epidemiology; Filariasis - immunology; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Infectious Diseases/Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases; Infectious Diseases/Helminth Infections; Infectious Diseases/Neglected Tropical Diseases; Malaria; Mosquitoes; Papua New Guinea - epidemiology; Parasites; Patient Compliance; Prevalence; Public health; Tropical diseases
• ISSN: 1935-2735; 1935-2727; 1935-2735
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000344

This study employed various monitoring methods to assess the impact of repeated rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) on bancroftian filariasis in Papua New Guinea, which has the largest filariasis problem in the Pacific region. Residents of rural villages near Madang were studied prior to and one year after each of three rounds of MDA with diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole administered per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The mean MDA compliance rate was 72.9%. Three rounds of MDA decreased microfilaremia rates (Mf, 1 ml night blood by filter) from 18.6% pre-MDA to 1.3% after the third MDA (a 94% decrease). Mf clearance rates in infected persons were 71%, 90.7%, and 98.1% after 1, 2, and 3 rounds of MDA. Rates of filarial antigenemia assessed by card test (a marker for adult worm infection) decreased from 47.5% to 17.1% (a 64% decrease) after 3 rounds of MDA. The filarial antibody rate (IgG(4) antibodies to Bm14, an indicator of filarial infection status and/or exposure to mosquito-borne infective larvae) decreased from 59.3% to 25.1% (a 54.6% decrease). Mf, antigen, and antibody rates decreased more rapidly in children