Knowledge Of Filariasis Research Articles

Mass drug administration to eliminate lymphatic filariasis: a population-based coverage and compliance study in Eastern India

BackgroundNeglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like lymphatic filariasis (LF) affect over 1 billion people globally, with India being a significant hotspot. Challenges persist despite global and national efforts, including the WHO's Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) and India's National Filaria Control Programme. We conducted a study to assess MDA coverage and compliance to improve LF elimination efforts in the Khordha district of Odisha, India. MethodsA sample of 691 participants, including both males and females aged two years or older, was chosen through multistage stratified sampling. These participants were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Collected data regarding Socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of filariasis, coverage and consumption of MDA drugs were analyzed. Descriptive statistics were applied to determine coverage and compliance, with results presented alongside a 95% confidence interval. ResultsIn our study, coverage and compliance rates were 86.36% and 91.12% for Albendazole, while 84.12% and 90.62% for DEC. Fear of side effects was the reason for most of the participants' non-consumption. The coverage rate was low in Urban areas because of gated communities and a lack of confidence in drug distributors. ConclusionThis recent round of MDA was effective but still Fear of side effects and lack of awareness were major challenges for the compliance of MDA drugs and need to be addressed for the complete eradication of LF.

Assessment of coverage and compliance of mass drug administration for lymphatic filariasis in Medak District-2021

Abstract In India Mass Drug Administration (MDA) drive is undertaken every year. In mass drug administration DEC and Albendazole combination is used. For the strategy to be effective, more than 85% of those living in endemic areas must be covered by MDA. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which family clusters were selected from rural and urban areas. Information about coverage, compliance with MDA and knowledge of filariasis was obtained using a questionnaire. Data were analysed using percentages and proportions. Results: In this study, about 92.51% of the study participants received DEC and ABZ tablets during MDA, of which 95.14 % of participants consumed the drugs. The most common cause of noncompliance was fear of side effects. Conclusion: Coverage of the population with DEC and albendazole combination was good but compliance needs to be improved. IEC activities should be intensified. Local leaders should be involved in the programme to increase compliance.

A study to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching program on knowledge regarding filariasis among adults in selected villages of Dakshina Kannada district

Background: Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis is the second cause of permanent, long-term disability in the world. It is one of the world's most disabling and disfiguring disease. It prevents the afflicted from experiencing a normal working and social life, resulting in matrimonial handicap, inferiority of self and furthering the cycle of poverty. Currently, more than 1.4 billion people in 73 countries are at risk. It affects 750 million every year and in India, 450 million people are at risk. Materials and Methods: A pre-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test design was conducted on March 2013 by interviewing 30 adults of selected Villages, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India. A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the pre-test and post-test data. Questions were based on the knowledge regarding filariasis. Results were analyzed statistically using percentage, proportions and Chi-square test. Results: In this study, 63.33% had average knowledge regarding filariasis in pre-test, while in post-test, 60% had good knowledge. The mean post-test knowledge score (17.53) was found to be significantly higher than mean pre-test knowledge score (12.9) at 0.05 level of significance ( t 29 = 2.045, P Conclusion: Structured teaching program increase the knowledge of filariasis among the adults. Health education should be a part of regular activity of community health services.

Filariasis in Japan some 25 years after its eradication.

Japan is said to have eradicated filariasis some 25 years ago, but the exact time (and even the definition of eradication) is not clear. However, the results of successful control programs clearly indicate that the number of microfilaria carriers had been reduced to a very low level long before the “eradication”. As filariasis disappeared, the once stigmatized disease quickly lost clinical significance. At the same time, the number of parasitologists and researchers interested in filariasis dwindled quickly to only a handful in the whole country 10-15 years after the disappearance. Filariasis problems in Japan still remain as sequelae of the old infection. However, young clinicians have little knowledge of filariasis, and the rare, localized and non-lethal disease is disappearing also from the memory of doctors. On the other hand, some doctors continue to encounter cases of lymphedema, hydrocele and chyluria. Some of these are diagnosed as filarial in origin, and in most cases the diagnosis is based on the fact that the patients were born and brought up in the past endemic areas. Practically, there is no reliable way of diagnosing the old clinical filariasis. Some immunodiagnostic methods are available but they are not very specific. The purpose of this review is to describe what is happening with filariasis in Japan about 25 years after its eradication. The review will highlight the situation of chyluria, the most common sequela, and its treatment, recent filarial infections in Japan including imported cases and zoonotic filariasis, and immunodiagnostic methods used for suspected clinical filariasis.

Knowledge and perceptions of filariasis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, among patients with chronic filarial lymphoedema

Knowledge of filariasis and perceptions of the disease were explored among 413 lymphoedema cases attending two filariasis clinics in the Colombo district of Sri Lanka. The information was collected in interviews based on a pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Only 15% of the patients had initially attributed their limb swelling to filariasis. Most knew that filariasis resulted from mosquito bites (81.1%) and that the disease is transmissible (59.8%) and preventable (74.3%). The majority did not know, or were uncertain, whether filariasis causes swelling of the breasts in females (68.5%), scrotal swelling (60.7%) or dry cough/breathlessness (62.7%). Most (60%) of the interviewees wrongly believed that chronic filarial lymphoedema could be cured, primarily by long-term treatment with diethylcarbamazine. Knowledge of filariasis was significantly associated with level of education (P<0.05). Curiously, compared with the male interviewees, the females interviewed were much less likely to say that filariasis was the cause of their initial swelling (P<0.001). Those who had suffered with the disease for more than 1 year were not significantly more knowledgeable about the disease than the interviewees who had developed symptomatic filariasis more recently. Knowledge about the symptoms of filariasis was generally poor in the study population. In order to dispel several common myths about the disease, health-education programmes, that are targeted both at the community in general and at primary-care providers, are clearly needed.