{"study_desc":{"study_info":{"nation":[{"name":"Ghana","abbreviation":"GH"}],"notes":"Many lymphatic filariasis (LF) endemic countries, including Ghana, have\nsuccessfully implemented mass drug administration (MDA) and made\nsignificant progress towards the elimination of the disease as a public health\nproblem. Unfortunately, the existence of individuals who seldom or never take\npart in MDA pose a threat to this success, as they may serve as reservoirs of\ninfection, re-infecting their communities. In this study we implemented\nstrategies to identify and treat these individuals, while also assessing their\nlevel of infection, to inform programme actions. The study was undertaken in\nthe Ahanta West hotspot district in Ghana, which has received more than 17\nrounds of MDA. Through the community registers used in recording\nparticipation in MDAs, we identified and offered treatment to individuals who\nwere ineligible or inadvertently missed the last MDA in April 2021 (Engage and\nTreat \u2013 E&T), or testing using the filariasis test strip followed by treatment to\ncommunity members who for various reasons chose not to participate in the\nlast MDA (Test and Treat \u2013 T&T). During the study, 23,879 individuals ranging\nfrom 5 to 98 years were reached, of whom 78% were not captured in the MDA\nregister. Among the E&T group, 75.06% willingly received and swallowed the\ntreatment drugs. The remaining 24.94% were offered testing followed by a reengagement\nto receive the drug in the T&T group. Overall, 22,830 (95.61%) of\nparticipants were treated by either strategy. Of the participants in the T&T\ngroup, 516 (8.66%; 95% CI= 7.96 \u2013 9.41) were positive by the FTS. The highest\nantigen prevalence was detected among children 5 to 10 years, with 16.59%\n(95% CI= 12.02 \u2013 22.06) and 22.54% (95% CI= 17.11 \u2013 28.74) among females\nand males, respectively. Mapping of the data revealed that most infections are\nin a few select communities. Of the 516 FTS positives, 27.33% reportedly missed\nMDA once, 18.41% missed MDA twice and 54.26% missed all of the last three\nMDAs. The main reasons for missing MDA included absence (25.49%), travel\n(21.24%), being unaware of MDA (20.27%), refusals to take the drug (10.65%),\nillnesses (7.07%) and fear of adverse events (6.13%). This study demonstrates\nthat greater sensitization and engagement strategies, with a test and treat\nstrategy reserved for the most hesitant individuals, could significantly increase\nthe number of individuals who receive treatment and therefore help districts\nreach their elimination targets by reducing the remaining reservoir or\ninfection. NTD programmes require new tools to help them identify,\nengage and treat these individuals, as part of their overall monitoring and\nevaluation strategy.","data_kind":"sample survey data[ssd]","geog_coverage":"Ahanta West District, Western Region of Ghana"},"authoring_entity":[{"name":"Dziedzom K. de Souza","affiliation":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra, Ghana"}],"production_statement":{"funding_agencies":[{"name":"Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases, which is funded at The Task Force for Global Health primarily by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, by the United States Agency for International Development through its Neglected Tropical Diseases Program, and with UK aid from the British people"}],"copyright":"Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research"},"oth_id":[{"name":"We are grateful to the study participants for freely participating in the study to share their invaluable views on the LF, MDA and how to improve participation in MDA activities. We thank the chiefs and people of the study communities for admitting the research team into Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2022, 7, 273 18 of 19 their communities and the AhantaWest District health management team for their support during fieldwork. We are also grateful to the research assistants who served as data collectors during fieldwork."}],"method":{"data_collection":{"coll_mode":["Review of MDA registers, Community Interviews and testing"]}},"data_access":{"dataset_use":{"contact":[{"name":"Dziedzom K. de Souza","affiliation":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra, Ghana","uri":"https:\/\/noguchi.ug.edu.gh\/","email":"DdeSouza@noguchi.ug.edu.gh"}]}},"distribution_statement":{"contact":[{"name":"Dziedzom K. de Souza","affiliation":"Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra, Ghana","email":"DdeSouza@noguchi.ug.edu.gh"}]},"title_statement":{"title":"Strategies for the ENdgame: Targeting Infections among Non-compliants in the Elimination of Lymphatic filariasis (SENTINEL)","alternate_title":"SENTINEL PHASE I","sub_title":"SENTINEL PHASE I","idno":"NMIMR_SENTINEL_PHASE_I_2017"},"version_statement":{"version":"v1","version_date":"2023-06-08"}}}