title: A laboratory-based surveillance system for Wuchereria bancrofti in Togo: a practical model for resource-poor settings.
abstract: One goal of the Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) is interruption of disease transmission through annual mass drug administration (MDA) in areas where LF prevalence is greater than 1%. After MDAs are completed, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a period of passive surveillance before final certification of LF elimination is achieved. Guidelines for such a surveillance system have yet to be developed. This paper describes a surveillance system launched in Togo in 2006. The system uses existing laboratories with technicians on call at night who, among other activities, prepare nocturnal thick blood smears for malaria diagnosis that can also be used for LF diagnosis. During its first 2 years (2006-2007), the system provided geographically disperse sampling nationwide, and 1 of 750 people residing in Togo was tested. Over the same period, the system detected two cases of LF, both from areas previously considered non-endemic. This system could be a cost-effective, sustainable model for WHO-mandated passive surveillance after cessation of MDA.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, National Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, USA. emm7@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.forename: Ameyo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dorkenoo
authors.forename: Felix K J
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Otogbe
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Budge
authors.forename: Yao K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Sodahlon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance; D014037:Togo / Q000453:epidemiology; D014944:World Health Organization; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti / Q000302:isolation & purification*