Lymphatic Filariasis Transmission Assessment Survey in Burkina Faso in Connection with 4 Districts

Objective: In this impact survey on the preventive chemotherapy against lymphatic filariasis, the national neglected tropical diseases programme team conducted a Transmission Assessment Survey in the health districts of Leo, Sapouy, Boromo and Dedougou. The purpose of this study was to assess lymphatic filariasis transmission in these four districts (included in two evaluation units (EU): Boucle du Mouhoun 3 and Centre-Ouest 2 after more than ten to thirteen years of mass drug treatment. Methodology: The study was a cross sectional survey which targeted the school aged children based on the cluster survey method conducted at community level. Results: Among the 1649 school aged children covered by the survey in the Centre Ouest EU, four were found positive at the Filariasis Test Strip (FTS), i.e. the proportion of children with circulating filarial antigens (i.e. with live adult stages of W. bancrofti ) was 0.24%. In the BMH3 EU, none of the 1716 children tested was FTS-positive. Conclusion: From the findings, we can infer that filariasis transmission has been interrupted in these districts and that mass treatment with albendazole and ivermectin can be stopped.