title: Filariasis serosurvey, New Caledonia, South Pacific, 2013.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a major public health problem in the Pacific. As the global prevalence of infection was not known in New Caledonia (NC), a serosurvey study was conducted by determining the prevalence of circulating filarial antigens, as recommended by the World Health Organization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A cross sectional study on a 2 degree stratified sample was carried out from June to November 2013. Inclusion criteria were: individuals aged 2 to 80 y/o, who had been hospitalized or sought medical care for a non-infectious cause and who had been living in NC for more than 6 months. LF antigenic detection was performed using the immunocromatographic BinaxNOW filariasis card test (ICT). Among the 1,035 individuals tested, 7 were antigenic. The overall LF antigenic prevalence was 0.62% (CI 95% [0.60-0.63]). All patients were unrelated to each other; none of them presented clinical symptoms of LF. Four of the 7 ICT positive patients reported having travelled to LF endemic areas, 2 patients had never traveled outside NC and the last one had only traveled in non-endemic areas. For the 7 ICT positive patients, the research of microfilariae in blood smears and filarial DNA by PCR was negative.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of filarial antigenemia in NC is less than 1%, the threshold that defines the filarial endemic areas for WHO. Nevertheless, as two patients who had never travelled outside NC and one who had only travelled to non-endemic areas were antigenic, we cannot conclude that NC is totally free of LF.
authors.affiliation: Health Action Service, New Caledonia Health Department, BP N4 - 98851, Nouméa cédex, New Caledonia. maguy.daures@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maguy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daures
authors.affiliation: Health Action Service, New Caledonia Health Department, BP N4 - 98851, Nouméa cédex, New Caledonia. juliechampagnat@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Champagnat
authors.affiliation: Health Action Service, New Caledonia Health Department, BP N4 - 98851, Nouméa cédex, New Caledonia. anne.pfannstiel@gouv.nc.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pfannstiel
authors.affiliation: Health Action Service, New Caledonia Health Department, BP N4 - 98851, Nouméa cédex, New Caledonia. frederique.ringuenoire@gouv.nc.
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ringuenoire
authors.affiliation: Health Action Service, New Caledonia Health Department, BP N4 - 98851, Nouméa cédex, New Caledonia. jean-paul.grangeon@gouv.nc.
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Grangeon
authors.affiliation: Institut Louis Malarde Institut, Tahiti, French Polynesia. dmusso@ilm.pf.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Musso
mesh_terms: D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D009510:New Caledonia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth