HKI Seeks to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis in Cameroon

Yaoundé, Cameroon, August 10, 2007 HKI has received US$75,000 from The World Health Organization to help the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Cameroon implement activities that will facilitate the elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in the country’s Far North province. The goal of this pilot program is to stop the spread of the infection and to alleviate the suffering and disability of individuals already affected by the disease. HKI will also assist the MOH in finalizing a National Strategic Plan to eliminate LF as a public health problem by reducing the level of the disease in populations to a point where transmission no longer occurs.

Considered a neglected tropical disease (along with onchocerciasis and trachoma) LF is an infectious tropical disease cause d by parasitic filarial worms transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. Elephantiasis, is the leading symptom of LF causes. It results in the thickening of the skin and tissue on various areas of the body creating physical deformity and social stigmas.

The principal approach to interrupt the transmission of the disease is a single dose treatment of albendazole once a year for 4-6 years. The program will mobilize the local communities to distribute the drug and empower them to take control of their own health. HKI will assist the MOH with the social mobilization. The organization will also develop and produce information, education and communication (IEC) materials that include raising awareness about the disease in affected patients and implementing community education activities to promote improved hygiene practices. HKI will also create integrated training modules and train personnel at the provincial, district, health center and community levels.

This five-month program (August to December) will be integrated into the existing onchocerciasis (river blindness) network as part of a strategy to increase the effectiveness of community-based programs in Cameroon. In addition to distributing ivermectin (Mectizan®) to fight onchocerciasis, the pilot program will provide albendazole to treat LF and address elephantiasis, hydrocoele and other manifestations of the disease. This treatment will also significantly reduce the burden of intestinal parasites in areas where they exist alongside LF. The current program is supported by Merck’s Mectizan® Donation Program (MDP) which will supply the albendazole for Cameroon. The program is expected to reach over 1.1 million people in nine health districts in the Far North province of Cameroon.

A study carried out in 2006 showed that the LF is a major public health problem in several provinces in Cameroon. The Far North province was chosen because it has no loa loa infections and adverse reactions to ivermectin treatment have occurred in patients with high loa microfiliarial loads. Communities in Cameroon’s Far North province have long suffered from LF with little to no support. This program is an important step forward to help eradicate LF and other neglected tropical diseases – as well as improve the health for vulnerable communities in Cameroon.