Significant Neglected Tropical Disease Research Published on IMA Work

Studies Focus on IMA Work in India and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Two major studies relating to NTD work managed by IMA World Health (IMA) in India and DRC were recently published in PLoS NTD. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases is published online by the Public Library of Science and is devoted to the pathology, epidemiology, treatment, control, and prevention of the NTDs, as well as public policy relevant to these diseases.

Since 2007, IMA has partnered with the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), a national faith based organization in India, in training patients and volunteers in managing the disabilities related to Lymphatic Filarisis. To date, over 15,000 patients in 842 villages in Orissa State have benefited from this morbidity management program. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided technical assistance to the program and carried out the research for this paper. The June 2010 study  by Dr. Paul Cantey published in PloS provides solid evidence   that when education and morbidity management programs are combined with Mass Drug Administration (MDA), a significant increase in drug compliance rates occurs. As stated in the research, “This study not only makes an important and direct contribution to the effort to interrupt the transmission of LF in India, it also serves as an example that can be used by other programs to overcome barriers to MDA compliance in affected populations.”

In DRC, Dr. William Clemmer of IMA World Health’s Cheif of Party for the AXxes project, assisted in a study related to the NTD, Buruli Ulcer (BU). According to the World Health Organization, BU is caused by a germ that mainly affects the skin but which can also affect the bone. BU often starts as a painless, mobile swelling in the skin called nodule. Infection often leads to extensive destruction of skin and soft tissue with the formation of large ulcers usually on the legs or arms. The current WHO strategy is treatment of BU with a combination of antibiotics for 4 to 8 weeks and then only in some cases, surgery. The study published in PLoS entitled, “Response to Treatment in a Prospective Cohort of Patients with Large Ulcerated Lesions Suspected to Be Buruli Ulcer”, indicates that large wounds are better treated with the combination antibiotics and surgery and advocate faster surgery of large ulcerating lesions, without four weeks of waiting to complete treatment with antibiotics only. Patients themselves already wait a long time before consulting a doctor -- to them the ulcers are inflicted by witchcraft or fate. The research by Dr. Kibadi Kapay in DRC demonstrates the need of greater education of the population, but more important, it shows that WHO guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Buruli ulcers urgently need to be updated.

For more information on IMA’s NTD programs or details on the studies mentioned, please contact Ann Varghese, NTD Program Officer. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .