Validation of the rapid assessment procedure for loiasis (RAPLOA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
BACKGROUND
A simple method called RAPLOA, to rapidly assess what proportion of people in a community are infected with L. loa and hence which communities are at high risk of severe adverse reactions following ivermectin treatment, was developed in Cameroon and Nigeria. The method needed further validation in other geographical and cultural contexts before its application in all endemic countries. The present study was designed to validate RAPLOA in two regions in the North East and South West of the Democratic Republic of Congo.


METHODS
In each study region, villages were selected from different bio-ecological zones in order to cover a wide range of loiasis endemicity. In each selected community, 80 people above the age of 15 years were interviewed for a history of eye worm (migration of adult L. loa under the conjunctiva of the eye) and parasitologically examined for the presence and intensity of L. loa infection. In total, 8100 individuals from 99 villages were enrolled into the study.


RESULTS
The results confirmed the findings of the original RAPLOA study: i) the eye worm phenomenon was well-known in all endemic areas, ii) there was a clear relationship between the prevalence of eye worm history and the prevalence and intensity of L. loa microfilaraemia, and iii) using a threshold of 40%, the prevalence of eye worm history was a sensitive and specific indicator of high-risk communities.


CONCLUSIONS
Following this successful validation, RAPLOA was recommended for the assessment of loiasis endemicity in areas targeted for ivermectin treatment by lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis control programmes.
University of Buea, Department Microbiology and Parasitology, Buea, Cameroon. swanji@yahoo.fr
Samuel
S
Wanji
Dowo O
DO
Akotshi
Maurice N
MN
Mutro
Floribert
F
Tepage
Tony O
TO
Ukety
Peter J
PJ
Diggle
Jan H
JH
Remme
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D015822:Eye Infections, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008117:Loa / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008118:Loiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D008842:Microfilariae; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult