Integrating Community Interventions to Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases

Summary

The overarching goal of this project is the elimination of two neglected tropical diseases (NTD):

soil-transmitted helminthiasis and rabies. The specific objective of this pilot study was:

To determine whether the integrated delivery platform improved the cost-effectiveness and coverage of MDA targeting STH and rabies;

The investigators integrated two public health initiatives: 1) a mass drug administration (MDA) effort to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTD) caused by soil-transmitted helminths (STH), with 2) a community-valued mass dog rabies vaccination (MDRV) intervention to eliminate human and animal rabies, also a priority NTD of the World Health Organisation. The goal of MDA efforts targeting STH is to reduce worm burdens to very low levels below which self-sustaining transmission, and the public health consequences of STH, cease. Existing school-based delivery programs fail to reach all affected age groups, however, which results in ineffective coverage levels and persistence of STH. The goal of MDRV is to immunize 70% of dog populations, after which canine-mediated rabies is eliminated. MDRV programs are typically very popular, with all human age groups participating. The objectives of this project were to determine whether supplementing a strictly school-based MDA NTD control program with a community-wide strategy that is coupled to an MDRV program will result in a synergism that (a) improves coverage, reach and cost-effective delivery of MDA targeting STH and (b) improves coverage and cost-effective delivery of dog vaccination. To achieve this, research activities, comprised of post-intervention household questionnaire surveys, were carried out. In addition detailed cost data was collected.

Conditions

• Rabies in Animals
• Worms; Intestine

Interventions

OTHER

integrated delivery of deworming and vaccination

integrated delivery of mass drug administrations, one targeting humans (deworming) and one targeting animals (rabies vaccination)

OTHER

Mass deworming only

Delivery of mass deworming to people only

OTHER

Mass vaccination of dogs

Delivery of mass vaccination of dogs only

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Glasgow

  collaborator OTHER

• National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Washington State University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-02-01

Primary Completion

2016-10-30

Completion

2016-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations