How does treatment coverage and proportion never treated influence the success of Schistosoma mansoni elimination as a public health problem by 2030?

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Abstract

Background

The 2030 target for schistosomiasis is elimination as a public health problem (EPHP), achieved when the prevalence of heavy intensity infection among school-aged children (SAC) reduces to <1%. To achieve this, the new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend a broader target of population to include pre-school (pre-SAC) and adults. However, the probability of achieving EPHP should be expected to depend on patterns in repeated uptake of mass drug administration (MDA) by individuals.

Methods

We employed two individual-based stochastic models to evaluate the impact of school-based and community-wide treatment and calculated the number of rounds required to achieve EPHP for Schistosoma. mansoni by considering various levels of the population never treated (NT). We also considered two age intensity profiles, corresponding to a low and high burden of infection in adults.

Results

The number of rounds needed to achieve this target depends on the baseline prevalence and the coverage used. For low and moderate transmission areas, EPHP can be achieved within seven years if NT ≀10% and NT <5%, respectively. In high transmission areas, community wide treatment with NT<1% is required to achieve EPHP.

Conclusions

The higher the intensity of transmission, and the lower the treatment coverage, the lower the acceptable value of NT becomes. Using more efficacious treatment regimens would permit NT values to be marginally higher. A balance between target treatment coverage and NT values may be an adequate treatment strategy depending on the epidemiological setting, but striving to increase coverage and/or minimise NT can shorten programme duration.

Article activity feed

  1. David Guararie

    Review 2: "How does Treatment Coverage and Proportion Never Treated Influence the Success of Schistosoma Mansoni Elimination as a Public Health Problem by 2030?"

    Reviewers highlight the crucial role of mass drug administration (MDA) coverage levels. However, they also point out potential limitations, such as overlooking the influence of snail environments and the effects of genetically differential susceptibility.

  2. Robert Spear

    Review 1: "How does Treatment Coverage and Proportion Never Treated Influence the Success of Schistosoma Mansoni Elimination as a Public Health Problem by 2030?"

    Reviewers highlight the crucial role of mass drug administration (MDA) coverage levels. However, they also point out potential limitations, such as overlooking the influence of snail environments and the effects of genetically differential susceptibility.

  3. Strength of evidence

    Reviewers: R Spear (UC Berkeley) | πŸ“’πŸ“’πŸ“’ ◻️◻️
    D Guararie (Case Western Reserve University) | πŸ“’πŸ“’πŸ“’β—»οΈβ—»οΈ
    G Medley (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) | πŸ“˜πŸ“˜πŸ“˜πŸ“˜πŸ“˜