Integrating the assessment of onchocerciasis into a lymphatic filariasis transmission assessment survey: a manual for national elimination programmes
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World Health Organization
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xv, 33 p.
This manual provides guidance for integrating the assessment of onchocerciasis into lymphatic filariasis (LF) transmission assessment surveys through the use of the integrated transmission assessment survey (iTAS). Developed for national elimination programmes, the document supports coordinated decision-making on mass drug administration (MDA) in areas where onchocerciasis and LF are co-endemic. It outlines standardized procedures for assessing transmission of both diseases simultaneously, particularly in settings where ivermectin has been used through LF elimination programmes and where stopping treatment could risk resurgence of onchocerciasis transmission. The manual describes the rationale, methodology and operational framework for iTAS, including survey design, sampling strategies, diagnostics, site selection and interpretation of critical cut-off values. It explains how iTAS can be used for monitoring transmission, guiding decisions on continuation or cessation of MDA, and supporting onchocerciasis elimination mapping in hypo-endemic or previously unmapped areas. Drawing on evidence and implementation experiences from multiple endemic countries, the publication also presents practical guidance, decision algorithms and integration approaches intended to improve coordination, surveillance efficiency and resource use within neglected tropical disease elimination programmes.
This manual provides guidance for integrating the assessment of onchocerciasis into lymphatic filariasis (LF) transmission assessment surveys through the use of the integrated transmission assessment survey (iTAS). Developed for national elimination programmes, the document supports coordinated decision-making on mass drug administration (MDA) in areas where onchocerciasis and LF are co-endemic. It outlines standardized procedures for assessing transmission of both diseases simultaneously, particularly in settings where ivermectin has been used through LF elimination programmes and where stopping treatment could risk resurgence of onchocerciasis transmission. The manual describes the rationale, methodology and operational framework for iTAS, including survey design, sampling strategies, diagnostics, site selection and interpretation of critical cut-off values. It explains how iTAS can be used for monitoring transmission, guiding decisions on continuation or cessation of MDA, and supporting onchocerciasis elimination mapping in hypo-endemic or previously unmapped areas. Drawing on evidence and implementation experiences from multiple endemic countries, the publication also presents practical guidance, decision algorithms and integration approaches intended to improve coordination, surveillance efficiency and resource use within neglected tropical disease elimination programmes.
Keywords
Onchocerciasis, Elephantiasis, Filarial, Neglected Diseases, Disease Eradication, Communicable Disease Control, Program Evaluation, Epidemiological Monitoring, Epidemiologic Methods, Sampling Studies, Sample Size, Public Health Surveillance, Decision Making, Research Design, Surveys and Questionnaires, National Health Programs, Guideline, Handbook, prevention and control, organization and administration, epidemiology, diagnosis, methods