Don’t be alone, don’t be afraid: Partnerships fostered between the NTD Programme and Communities in Liberia

by Karsor Kollie, Laura Dean, Anna Wickenden and Sally Theobald

This was an exciting and historic event to celebrate World Leprosy Day.  It was the first-time that people affected by these diseases came together to increase awareness of the integrated approach to morbidity management and launch the LF/Onchocerciasis MDA programme in Liberia. This created an important space for patients to meet many others for the first time, and further strengthen these exchanges with each other will have impact on many levels.

Ma Grace, Pa Abraham and Pastor Joseph stood strong to tell their testimonies of life with either Lymphatic filariasis (big foot) or leprosy in Maryland County, Liberia. Their inspiring journeys of overcoming challenges and being part of community life meant that they were important advocates for the NTD programme, bringing much needed visibility and inclusion of people affected. Their key educational messages to their peers – others from Maryland with lymphoedema or leprosy, school children and community health volunteers and community health workers were:

1. Don’t be alone, don’t be afraid, speak to others;
2. Visit the health centre and
3. Take your drugs.

Community health volunteers and community health workers play a critical interface role in NTD and other health programmes, linking communities and health systems. One community health support supervisor, shared her experiences of contributing to “Ending the Neglect and Stigma: to achieve zero disabilities in girls and boys affected by NTDs” (the theme of the day’s event). They also explained how they provide psychosocial and medication support. This important cadre of “foot soldiers” was appropriately celebrated. They also demonstrated how to measure clients and distribute medicine.

Karsor Kollie, director of the NTD programme and COUNTDOWN country manager, provided awareness and education on the different focus NTDs such as Buruli ulcer (everlasting sore), lymphatic filariasis (big foot/big water bag), Leprosy and Onchocerciasis. He broke down complex concepts into clear digestible chunks and the audience were really engaged. We also heard from Dr Evelyn Kandakai, ambassador for the NTD programme and former Minister of Education in Liberia. She began by thanking the audience for maintaining peace in the recent elections. She then had three key messages 1. Be a friend to people affected by NTDs, 2. Cooperate with programme work and 3. Make Liberia environmentally friendly. She asked the audience to “put their arms around the Ministry of Health and Karsor Kollie”.

Dr. David Ross, CEO – Task Force on Global health, launched the CNTD-supported, DFID-funded, Mass Drug Administration against Lymphatic Filariasis/Onchocerciasis in Maryland County. This included several participants including the NTD Director, former Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) and Director of Community Health taking part. They were measured using the height pole, given the appropriate number of pills, and swallowed the mectizan and albendazole to demonstrate that the medicines are safe, and everyone can safely take them.

Reflecting on the day, it was great to see partnerships celebrated at different levels of health systems. The emphasis on the critical role of patients, communities and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and the importance of their ownership and agency was refreshing and important. Strengthening these partnerships will be critical in meeting the challenges ahead.

Let’s Move the Agenda from Control to Elimination of NTDs

By Prof Louis Albert Tchuem Tchuenté, Pamela Bongkiyung & Prof Russell Stothard

Who has the perfect answer to controlling or eliminating a disease? It gets more difficult when simply using medication does not guarantee no re-infection. In the case of Schistosomiasis and Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis, in the agenda of elimination one wonders if what we need are more parasitologists in the affected areas or getting the current ones to be more publicly engaged in educating the population?

Prof. Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté who has been working on schisto control for over three decades emphasises the control of Schisto as many other NTDs is a long-term combat. That means a lot of investment and capacity building at all levels. It also needs to have the involvement of many actors and stakeholders. It is difficult for a single organisation or a single group to interrupt the transmission of this disease. That is why intersectoral cooperation, partnership and involvement of stakeholders at all levels is very important. Policy makers, scientists, community health workers, health personnel staff, teachers and all category of the population need to be involved in this fight.

Training of parasitologists is very important because in the African setting more needs to be done. It is vital to optimise and adapt the strategy according to the different transmission setting. The same strategy cannot be deployed as it will not have the same impact. That is why for example in Cameroon, when you compare the current distribution of Schistosomiasis to what was done 25 – 30 years ago; there is a significant decrease in some areas. We have examples where transmission has been interrupted, we have many examples where prevalence has been lowered to more than 80 – 90 percent in some of the localities.

But we still have some challenges where the dynamics vary.  The disease prevalence is reducing but variances remain due to the existence of conditions that allow for the transmission cycle to continue. That is why moving from control to elimination requires integration is intensified. Part of this requires increasing capacity building by training more students, investment, health education, change in behaviour and increase awareness of the population. It is a huge challenge.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) has as one of its key point a call for countries to invest more for the control and elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Therefore, for the transmission of schistosomiasis to be interrupted there is a need for countries to invest more for the elimination of this disease. When more is invested, this means that we also should invest in equipment, in sanitation, in access to water and change of the environment or that you improve the hygiene.

Prof. Tchuem Tchuenté said: “Granted, the control of schistosomiasis is very challenging, it is a long-term commitment which is feasible. At this stage, there are tools and strategies in place to interrupt the transmission of schistosomiasis; what we need now mainly in Africa is that we must change our approach to become more ambitious. We must move completely from control to elimination. This shift in paradigm should be clearly effective and endorsed by all African countries.”

He believes that when we keep the word ‘control’, we can be satisfied with morbidity control and therefore control morbidity forever. If the agenda shifts to elimination, then the momentum and the target aligns with that shift. Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) programmes have used this approach. The LF programme’s target for years has been elimination and this makes us put a lot of effort into its elimination.

There is a tendency to become complacent when you reduce a disease to the level where it no longer constitutes a health problem. This is when we need to be most careful as you could miss when the disease makes a come-back again. But if you have a target for elimination, this means additional or further efforts to interrupt the transmission and then to move to the surveillance phase. Japan is one of the good examples. In the 1960s, there were some areas in Japan where the prevalence of schistosomiasis was higher than in most parts of Africa. But they decided and launched a ‘zero parasite’ campaign. From the beginning, it was not about control but zero parasites; meaning elimination. In less than 20 years Japan has eliminated schistosomiasis. China started with control but then rapidly moved to the elimination phase. Now their objective is to eliminate everywhere in China.

The COUNTDOWN project is in a key position to contribute to this agenda. Our research aims to increase acceptability, affordability, accessibility and availability of Neglected Tropical Diseases solutions. Our multidisciplinary approach is investigating efficient methods to cost-effectively upscale mass drug administration programmes, thereby moving the agenda closer to elimination.

With this word elimination, you must put the necessary efforts and investment to interrupt transmission. In Africa, the time is right to think about this and to shift completely from control to elimination. It is not easy as this will require a lot of investment. We need to raise momentum and commitment from the government, including investment. That is what the SDG is about; as espoused in one of its goals –  for countries to invest more for the elimination of NTDs!

To find out more about our research visit our partner website: http://countdowncameroon.org/

Follow our activities via our Twitter accounts:

@NTDCOUNTDOWN  @NTDGHCOUNTDOWN  @COUNTDOWNNTDCAM  @COUNTDOWNLR  @COUNTDOWNNG

 

China and Africa Join Forces in fight to Eliminate Schistosomiasis

by Professor Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté, Pamela Bongkiyung, Professor Russell Stothard

In the fight against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), it has become obvious that learning from other countries’ successes will help many others to control and eliminate these diseases. This is how the China-Africa meeting and collaboration came about in 2012.

Whilst on a visit to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, we caught up with Prof. Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté regarding the China-Africa Meeting on Schistosomiasis Elimination and Training Course on Malacology, organised in Cameroon from the 24 – 28 October 2016.

Prof. Louis-Albert Tchuem-Tchuenté is an NTD Ambassador for Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He also heads the Centre for Schistosomiasis & Parasitology in Cameroon and is a professor of parasitology. He lectures at the University of Yaoundé I and is Country Director for the COUNTDOWN project in Cameroon. His expertise in Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis spans over 30 years. He is Cameroon’s National Coordinator for the control of Schistosomiasis and Intestinal Worms.

Discussions with Prof. Louis-Albert revealed that this China-Africa meeting started a long time ago. Given that China has a vast amount of experience in Schisto control and has successfully eliminated Schisto in many of their provinces; many African countries still struggling with schisto can learn from the Chinese experience. Very few areas have Schisto in China and Schisto has been eliminated as a public health problem there. The highest prevalence is probably 1-2 percent and the plan now is to interrupt the transmission everywhere.

According to Prof. Louis-Albert, China invested a lot on their elimination agenda including treatment, environmental modification and snail control. Most of the schistosomiasis cases in China are zoonotic because they have a lot of animals who act as reservoir hosts. That is why they have invested a lot of money to modify the environment so that the animals do not maintain the parasite life-cycle.

One of the highest components of this is the snail control. Schistosomiasis has two main hosts: vertebrate hosts (including human beings and animals) and the snails. In the transmission, you have both factors that make this happen. The snails are in the water and if you don’t change the environment, the snails remain present. Even if you reduce the transmission, then at some stage it just needs one person who is infected to defecate or urinate into the environment, to rebuild the transmission cycle. That is why it is very important to control the snails. The Chinese have done so successfully and have vast experience in snail control.

Based on this, it became important for African countries to benefit from the Chinese experience. That is why the World Health Organisation(WHO), together with the Chinese government, decided to have this China-Africa cooperation, for the elimination of schistosomiasis in Africa.

This began at the governmental level between China, WHO and the governments in Africa. The agenda was further discussed at the China-Health Ministerial Forum that reviews valuable health development issues. During the 2013 Minister’s Forum held in Beijing, an agreement was reached on this partnership and the initiative approved. This move was necessary to progress granted things take time at the government level. That is why the China team, WHO and African governments decided to start an institutional-based cooperation. This initiative was developed to sustain a China – Africa Cooperation for Schistosomiasis Elimination.

China has several provinces that are endemic for schistosomiasis and it was important to link these provinces to different African countries depending on the relationship they have. That is why in the first phase, ten countries were selected in Africa and were linked with different provinces in China.

The first meeting to set-up the institution-based cooperation was launched in 2015, in Malawi. The meeting launched the initiative and the memorandum of understanding between the partners. The memorandum was signed between different African institutions and Chinese institutions for research. The meeting in Cameroon was the second meeting and it was focused on snail and malacology training. Another component of the training was using mollusciciding to control the snails. The Chinese team and ten countries participated in the meeting in Cameroon.

The rationale for collaboration is clear as it fosters relationships between various actors and allows in-depth knowledge of what works in practice. This knowledge gets refined for better use through creating more cost-effective solutions which are sustainable in the long term for NTD control and elimination.

To continue this cross-sharing of knowledge, COUNTDOWN will be at the upcoming British Society of Parasitology Autumn Symposium taking place on 28^th September 2017 taking place at The Linnean Society in London. This session will focus on ‘The Multidisciplinarity of Parasitology: Host-Parasite Evolution and Control in an Ever-Changing World’.

 

 

Molecular Tools for Helminth Control and Elimination: Time to Get them Out of the Laboratory, into Programmes and Policies?

By Corrado Minetti

On my way back from Ghana, where we have been testing the molecular protocols for the detection of filarial parasites in mosquitoes, in the laboratory of Mike Osei-Atweneboana at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Accra; I had some thoughts about how far molecular diagnostics has come but also questioned how can we make it a sustainable reality to assist effectively in disease control and elimination.

DNA extraction from pooled mosquitoes for the detection of filarial worms (on the left) and an example of amplification of parasite DNA (+) with the LAMP method (on the right) (Photo: Corrado Minetti)

In order to achieve the goals of the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases for the effective and sustainable control and long term elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis, onchocerciasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis; the deployment of appropriate diagnostic tools is crucial at every stage of these disease control and elimination programmes from initial mapping to post-elimination surveillance. With the rapidly changing epidemiological scenario of these diseases due to the scaling up of mass drug administration, and the push towards more sustainable and cost-effective multi-disease interventions, the implementation of more sensitive and cost-effective diagnostic tools is a priority well recognized and advocated by the World Health organization.

Molecular diagnostics tools, including (multiplex) real-time polymerase chain reaction and more recent isothermal amplification assays such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification and recombinase polymerase amplification do offer increased sensitivity compared to traditional approaches but they are yet to be used in control and elimination programmes due to their cost and technical requirements. There are various gaps that need to be highlighted and solved in order to allow these approaches to become potentially embedded into disease control programmes & policies, and to inform decision-making.

In order to identify these much-needed gaps, we have recently published a review paper where we compared the features of published real-time PCR and isothermal amplification assays for the detection of Lymphatic Filariasis, onchocerciasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis in clinical and vector/intermediate host samples. Despite the availability of a wide range of assays for both patient diagnosis and xenomonitoring (parasite detection in insect vectors or snails), little or no research has been devoted to estimate the real costs and logistics of implementing these approaches on a wider scale for control and elimination. We highlight the need for a major focus on the implementation aspects of these tools in developing countries, and how barriers for their full adoption in resource-poor settings could be overcome. Key issues are the technical requirements and the related need for capacity building, the abatement of costs and the economic sustainability of molecular screening over time. For example, diagnosing multiple parasites from the same clinical sample can heavily reduce the number of samples that a community may need to provide, resulting in a far less invasive procedure for the communities, as well as reducing significantly the cost of processing. A multi-disease approach to diagnostics will certainly benefit the health system as well, both logistically and economically.

Writing this review paper has been extremely valuable to get a clearer picture of the progress in the field so far and to identify the best and most cost-effective diagnostic approaches for our project. In a broader sense and within the COUNTDOWN research consortium, we hope this review could serve as a starting point of discussion in the NTDs control and elimination community, leading to a more comprehensive analysis of what molecular diagnostics can offer and how we can make sure these tools can finally get out from the laboratory becoming embedded into policy, to strengthen disease control and elimination programmes and the health system itself.

Find more information on COUNTDOWN’s activities visit us here.

Old dog, New Tricks? Assessing the Potential of Integrating Focal Vector Suppression with Drug Cure to Control and Eliminate River Blindness

By Louise Hamill

Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is one of the vector-borne neglected tropical diseases (NTDs); in this case, transmitted by many different species of black fly. The majority of infections (99%) occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease was previously also found in South America but is now thankfully close to total elimination; with only a few isolated, extremely remote areas still to be verified disease-free. The aim for Africa is to achieve continent-wide interruption of transmission by 2025.  Current control of river blindness in Africa, which, as well as blindness, leads to debilitating, disfiguring skin pathology, is based upon the mass delivery of ivermectin to entire populations in endemic areas. Ivermectin kills microfilariae in the skin, but has no significant effects on adult worms. This necessitates repeated rounds of ivermectin mass delivery for a period of 12 – 15 years, with sustained high coverage of the at-risk population essential for successful disease control and eventual elimination.

This approach has had notable successes in several areas, led by the efforts of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC). However in other areas, the impact of sustained delivery of ivermectin for fifteen years, and in some areas more than two decades, has yet to result in the predicted interruption of transmission. Furthermore, where the eye worm Loa loa and onchocerciasis occur together, mass delivery of ivermectin cannot be easily rolled out. Ivermectin causes unwanted side effects, and in rare cases death, in individuals infected with L. loa as the drug rapidly kills this parasite. L. loa is common in large swathes of West and Central Africa, allowing onchocerciasis to endure in these areas, where many people are still infected and transmission of both pathogens is actively taking place, despite ongoing control efforts. Clearly there is no one-size-fits-all approach to curtail river blindness, and there is a need to seek alternative strategies to ivermectin-based control in areas where river blindness and L. loa overlap.

In the nineteen seventies and eighties the WHO onchocerciasis control programme, OCP, ran an extremely successful vector control strategy against onchocerciasis in savannah areas of West Africa. This programme relied exclusively on aerial application of larvicide to kill black fly larval as they resided in rivers and streams. It is estimated this past use of vector control prevented 600,000 cases of blindness and prevented 40 million people being infected. The scale of this undertaking, including the huge financial cost and human resource needed, means that the use of mass vector elimination as a tool for onchocerciasis control is very much consigned to the history books. Before turning the page completely on this chapter of onchocerciasis control, are there any lessons to be learnt from this “old dog”?

The COUNTDOWN meeting on Focal black fly Control in Cameroon

This is exactly the question we set out to debate when COUNTDOWN convened a technical advisory panel at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine on 22^nd of July 2016. Although mass vector control is out of the question, is there any way in which short-term, localised approaches can be used to augment and complement existing strategies?

Attendees at the COUNTDOWN meeting on Focal Black fly Control, from Left to Right: Professor Graham Matthews, Professor Rory Post, Dr Frank Walsh, Didier Bakajika, Dr John B. Davies, Dr Louise Hamill, Dr Hans Dobson, Dr Joseph Turner, Professor María-Gloria Basáñez, Professor Mark Taylor, Isobel Routledge, Professor Russell Stothard, Professor Robert Cheke. Not pictured; Professor Janet Hemingway, Dr Lisa Reimer.

Previous work in South West Cameroon by members of the COUNTDOWN consortium indicates that ten years of ivermectin delivery in our study area has not had the expected impact on disease prevalence. The average community-level of skin microfilaria prevalence stands at 52.7 percent, with the infection intense even in children under ten years of age. Additional work in South West Cameroon found current adherence to ivermectin mass delivery by local residents is not adequate to achieve onchocerciasis control. This is an area where alternative and complementary strategies are urgently needed.

The COUNTDOWN consortium has proposed that larvicidal treatment of vector breeding sites at the same time as testing and treating the human population with doxycycline could offer a complementary onchocerciasis control strategy. This two-pronged approach, it is hoped, will have a greater impact on disease transmission than using either technique in isolation. Doxycycline targets “friendly” bacteria living within the adult onchocerciasis worms, resulting in a significant shortening of their lifespans and giving doxycycline a very different mode of action to ivermectin. Since L. loa does not harbour the same bacteria, individuals co-infected with L. loa who take doxycycline will not suffer the same side effects as can happen with ivermectin. From the evidence above, it is clear to see ivermectin mass delivery has not had the desired impact on disease prevalence over the past ten years in this area of South West Cameroon; could targeted vector suppression jump start the path to onchocerciasis control?

At the meeting, debate revolved around the factors influencing choice of larvicide; when, how often & for how long the larvicide should be applied; the most suitable sampling methods to monitor impact of the larviciding on adult and larval black fly; and how best to undertake monitoring of the impact of insecticide application on non-target organisms. The optimal timing of any vector suppression to best amplify the impact of the community test-and-treat strategy is crucial. The way ahead is far from straight forward, highlighting the importance of rigorously assessing the evidence and our proposed strategy in this way. Although the use of localised vector control against black flies is not a new proposal, there is little information on how this could be implemented against free-living black fly larvae.

Where next?

The control and elimination of NTDs in Africa has repeatedly been in the post-millennium development goals policy spotlight, with (among others) the WHO roadmap to elimination, the London Declaration on NTDs and recently the launch of the Expanded Special Programme for Elimination of NTDS (ESPEN). Similar to the situation for lymphatic filariasis, scale-up of mass delivery of ivermectin will not be enough to achieve the London Declaration 2020 targets for onchocerciasis control and elimination. The use of both doxycycline and focal vector suppression are separately recommended by WHO and APOC as alternative onchocerciasis control strategies, to accelerate progress towards onchocerciasis control, however as relatively new control strategies evidence on their implementation is scarce and evidence on integrated, dual-strategy implementation is wholly absent. The specific contexts in which these tools could be successfully implemented together are unclear.  Going forward with our onchocerciasis work in Cameroon, COUNTDOWN’s focus is consolidation of the evidence gathered at the vector control meeting to assess the possibility of implementing localised vector suppression as an adjunct to existing and alternative control and elimination strategies. This will bridge vital evidence gaps and provide clarity on if and where these techniques can be used, and the optimal conditions in which to implement them.

 

 

 

A Bed Net to Rule Them All: Accelerating Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Through Malaria Control Programmes

by Corrado Minetti

In rural areas of Africa, Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) is primarily transmitted by night-biting Anopheles mosquitoes, which also transmit malaria. Currently, the two major ways of controlling malaria vectors are the indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticides and the use of bed nets. It has been estimated that the combination of these two interventions, in the decade 2000-2010, has prevented  more than 200 million new cases and more than 1 million deaths due to malaria.

In areas where both LF and malaria occur and are transmitted by the same mosquitoes, should we then promote vector control alongside mass drug administration (MDA) to accelerate the elimination of LF through a better and more cost-effective integration of LF and malaria control programmes at the national level?

The answer is yes.

The importance of vector control for lymphatic filariasis elimination

Reducing mosquito numbers and preventing people being bitten has a significant impact in reducing the burden of LF and, ultimately, pushing towards its elimination. As it has been reported in various countries around the world the use of bed nets, IRS and/or reducing the mosquito breeding sites can all result in a significant reduction of LF transmission even in the absence of MDA. For example, in Papua New Guinea the deployment of insecticidal bed nets in communities where MDA was stopped 10 years before resulted in a reduction of the LF transmission potential down to zero within only 11 months following distribution.

A long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) in Agyan (Ghana) (Photo: Corrado Minetti)

Mathematical models have clearly shown the strategic impact of implementing vector control alongside MDA for LF: reducing the human-mosquito exposure allows reaching the community and vector infection thresholds below which LF transmission will be interrupted faster and earlier compared with using MDA alone. As a result less rounds of MDA may be needed to reach elimination if vector control is in place, with important savings for the programme.  Furthermore, sustained vector control may avoid the resurgence of LF in treated communities in a post-elimination setting (after MDA has been stopped) due to the potential re-introduction of the disease through human movement.

The way forward: integration of lymphatic filariasis and malaria control programmes

Mass distribution of ivermectin for LF elimination (on the left, source: www.mectizan.og) and bed nets for malaria control (on the right, source: www.usaid.org)

Given the importance of vector control for LF elimination; with LF and malaria being transmitted by the same mosquito vectors in West and rural Africa, integrated vector management (IVM) becomes crucial. There is a tremendous opportunity to effectively integrate the LF and the malaria control programmes, making both more efficient and cost-effective.

Establishing a synergy between MDA for LF and bed nets distribution/indoor insecticide spraying for malaria can have two major effects which will be extremely beneficial for the fight of both diseases. Firstly, a more efficient use of resources: the same community distributors delivering the drugs can distribute bed nets at the same time leading to important savings in terms of time and human resources. Secondly, a higher impact on the burden of both diseases: MDA campaigns can facilitate the distribution and penetration of bed nets in the community and vice-versa.

The beneficial effects of an integration of MDA and bed nets distribution has been clearly shown in Nigeria, where the concomitant delivery of nets alongside MDA resulted in a significant improvement in insecticide-treated bed net ownership and use (up to 9-fold) and it did not negatively affect the MDA coverage.

Following the above evidence, in 2014 Nigeria has been the first country in Africa to launch a Nationwide Malaria and LF elimination Co-Implementation Plan alongside specific guidelines.

We now have the tremendous opportunity to promote a better cross-talk between the vector borne disease-specific communities, stakeholders and policy-makers in order to raise awareness on the importance of a sustained and better planned vector control leading to a more cost-effective and effective use of resources across disease control programmes.

Within the COUNTDOWN research consortium, we recognize that the scale-up of MDA won’t be enough to achieve the London Declaration 2020 targets for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis. In particular, following the example of Nigeria, we are seeking opportunities in Ghana for an integration of the national LF elimination and malaria control programmes to co-ordinate MDA distribution and delivery of vector control interventions and to evaluate the impact of such synergy on service delivery, community participation and cost-effectiveness.

Find more information on COUNTDOWN’s activities here.

Future directions in Neglected Tropical Diseases

By Eleanor MacPherson, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

On the 14^th June I attended a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). It brought together a panel of four men to discuss Neglected Tropical Diseases and the Sustainable Development Goals. The panel included three members from the World Health Organisation: Dirk Engels (Director of NTDs), Christopher Fitzpatrick (Economist for NTDs), Bruce Gordon (NTD-WASH strategy) and Mr Andy Wright from GSK Uniting to Combat NTDs. The meeting was chaired by Jeremy Lefroy the MP for Stafford and coordinator for the APPG on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Here are five reflections on our discussions:

1. Including women in community led mass drug administration can improve women’s standing within communities. Dirk Engles talked about the different ways that tackling NTDs could help meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals but this one stood out. He described how including women as community drug distributors could be empowering for women because by taking a leadership role they were challenging gender norms. However, I would love to broaden this out to highlight the multiple ways gender shapes women and girls’ experiences of NTDs. These include the way social norms within communities often mean that women and girls are expected to interact with infected water sources on a near constant basis. Women can experience greater stigma from living with the clinical manifestations of NTDs. For instance, women living with swelling in their legs can lead to greater stigmatisation both within their families and in the communities more broadly. Expectations around who provides care in households can also mean that women and girls care for those living with the symptoms of NTDs. Making sure we highlight the diverse ways gender power relations shape vulnerability and experiences of living with the diseases is vital. One step to doing this would be the inclusion of women and girls voices in the design health and social programmes to ensure their needs are not overlooked.
2. Despite free drugs being available not all countries request them: Understanding why countries do not request free drugs is important. Health systems in resource limited settings are often overburdened. Provision of free drugs is only part of a health programme. Many bottlenecks obviously exist that prevent countries from requesting and delivering these programmes. Taking a health systems approach that asks stakeholders what challenges governments face that stops them from requesting drugs could provide important insights.
3. We need to look beyond just giving drugs: Where people live, whether they have access to safe water, whether they have access to health care, and what they do for a living can all affect their vulnerability to NTDs. Giving preventative chemotherapy has to be seen as a strategy that goes hand in hand with other interventions that aim to prevent people becoming infected in the first place. These include vector controls as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
4. WASH is not always easy but it is necessary: WASH’s start-up and maintenance costs can be expensive but given the very real ways it can prevent illness and suffering investment should be made.
5. Let’s not leave anyone behind: Millions of people, and their families, continue to be affected by NTDs. Making sure that these people’s health and social needs are considered and addressed within NTD programmes is of the upmost importance.

It was heartening to see the successes of NTD interventions such as the lymphatic filariasis programme from the last decade. However, it is clear that many challenges still remain if we are to live in a world free of NTDs.

Photo credit: Lake Malawi by Eleanor MacPherson

The importance of good preparation in quality clinical diagnostics

It is said that prior planning prevents poor performance, so we were pleased to be joined in Liverpool by our colleague Jaco Verweij who is supporting the qPCR workshop which will take place in Ghana later in the month. As head of the clinical molecular diagnostics facility at Tilburg, Dr Verweij has developed an automated laboratory system that is capable of processing 100,000 samples a year with 45 multiplex DNA assays targeting a wide range of pathogens from multiple sample sources from blood to faecal.

As well as leading this state of the art molecular lab in the Netherlands he shares the same vision as COUNTDOWN, in terms of the need to scale up capacity in the Africa region.  During molecular workshops in Africa, he helped others to specialise in the use of Taqman® multiplex assays to identify some of the more damaging worm infections: from schistosomiasis to soil-transmitted helminthiasis.  With a higher diagnostic specificity and sensitivity than traditional parasitological methods these Taqman® assays use real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) platforms. Adopting these methods allows for the development of a more detailed and accurate epidemiological picture several worm infections, strongyloidiasis in particular.

At the Ghana workshop a series of seminars and laboratory work will give the participants the skills and background knowledge to carry out faecal DNA extraction, qPCR, and the subsequent analysis of the results. The workshop will lay the ground work in skills development for the subsequent COUNTDOWN milestones for both the filariasis and helminth work as well as providing the skilled staff at the Global Polio Laboratory Network and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research with the opportunity to increase their diagnostic horizons. We look forward to an exciting and productive trip that will sow the seeds for future work in the country.

COUNTDOWN on diagnostics for soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis in Ghana

By Russell Stothard

Shortly before Christmas, I had the pleasure of visiting Accra and Dodowa to discuss with the COUNTDOWN teams our research on DNA diagnostics. Previously, the surveillance of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) and schistosomiasis has relied upon traditional parasitological methods. This involves rather old-fashioned techniques to visualise worm eggs in stool or urine samples by light microscopy. Although pragmatic in field-based surveys, these parasitological methods are insensitive and do not precisely capture the true levels of infections.

Improving diagnostics by introduction of modern molecular methods is important for two reasons. First and at a population level, infected cases are better detected leading to more accurate reporting and subsequently better allocation of treatment. Second and at an individual level, the more cryptic associations between infection and disease are unveiled. For example, for the latter in better describing the relationship between growth stunting and STH in children or the gynaecological impact of female genital schistosomiasis in adolescent girls.

A major research theme in COUNTDOWN is to develop and strengthen the molecular diagnostic capacity within the laboratory of Dr Mike Osei-Atweneboana. Mike will also explore future synergies with the Ghanaian polio programme based in the Ngouchi Institute, Accra which regularly collects thousands of stool samples from children. Regular access to these samples and heightened scrutiny with molecular diagnostics could provide a wider platform to assess STH throughout the country.

Last September, Dr Emily Adams visited Mike’s laboratory to make a preliminary situation assessment of his equipment needs. I was there in December to assist him with further planning for a forthcoming training workshop in DNA diagnostics. This is to be held the week of 14^th March in Accra and in liaison with colleagues from the Ngouchi Institute. I visited a primary school in New Abarim where ongoing deworming had just taken place. We also made a spot-check visit on the local health centre in Adausena. It is clear that future application of DNA diagnostics in these settings will shed new light on the true burden of disease.

Ahead of the workshop in March, Emily and I will be taking steps with Lucas Cunningham to develop a training manual and also assemble the necessary DNA reagents for transfer to Ghana. To make a success of the training course, I am delighted to report that Dr Jaco Verweij, the world’s expert on DNA diagnostics, will be visiting the LSTM in February to provide use with best technical advice and later also join us in Ghana to develop best clinical international standards.

 

Come see COUNTDOWN at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference

We’re delighted to be attending this year’s Prince Mahidol Award Conference which is focused on the theme of Universal Health Coverage. We’ll be represented by Kate Hawkins, Sally Theobald and Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté.

At the conference we’ll be presenting our poster on progress on control and elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) as the ‘litmus test’ for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Mass Drug Administration (MDA) has been successful in reaching high numbers of people affected by NTDs resulting in progress toward the control and elimination of NTDs in many contexts. However, numerous bottlenecks still remain for the scale-up of MDA if the WHO 2020 targets are to be met. If UHC is to be achieved these aspects need to be addressed and the health system strengthened. We outline the challenges that are being faced under the six health systems building blocks – financing, workforce, information and research, service delivery, leadership and governance, and medical products and technologies – and suggest some ways forward.

If you are attending the conference do come and find us. It would be good to connect.