English - Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

REPORT OF THE 6 TH GAELF MEETING, JUNE 2010
Half-time Score in Morbidity
Control
Chair: Professor Dato C.P. Ramachandran
Impact of MDA on Clinical Disease
Professor Charles Mackenzie, Professor of
Parasitology and Diagnostic Investigation
at Michigan State
University, observed
that accurate data are
not available on the
number of people
affected with various
forms of LF-related
disease, and this
limits our capacity to
plan for and provide
adequate care.
Since it began in 2000, the GAELF has
learned about the impact of MDA on
clinical disease. Data from Tanzania
indicate that MDA dramatically reduces
the incidence of new cases of clinical
disease. Dr Mackenzie argued that the
incidence of clinical disease may be a
critically important indicator of
programme success. In Tanzania, MDA has
been associated with reduced incidence,
duration, and severity of ADL in persons
with chronic morbidity. Studies by
Professor RK Shenoy, in
India, also indicate that
antifilarial drug
treatment has an effect
on sub-clinical disease
in children (see below).
As the GAELF enters
the next decade, Dr
Mackenzie called for a
clearer understanding of the extent and
magnitude of clinical LF; more effective
treatment, including improved wound and
surgical care; and more widespread
patient support systems,
which have been piloted
in Brazil, India, Tanzania,
and elsewhere. He argued
for improved funding and
technical support for
morbidity management,
especially for specific
patient needs, such as
specialized shoes;
assistance in job development and reentry
into the commercial community;
psychological support; and comprehensive
care packages. He stressed the need for
more widespread innovation, such as the
President Kikwete Fund, which supports
hydrocele surgery in Tanzania.
Prevention of Lymphoedema in Children
Professor RK Shenoy, Chief of the Filariasis
Research Unit at TD Medical College in
Kerala, India described a study that he and
his colleagues recently completed [5]. The
study addressed the
degree to which
antifilarial drug
treatment reverses
clinical and sub-clinical
disease associated with
Brugia malayi infection
in children 3-15 years
old.
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