02009nas a2200229 4500000000100000008004100001653003900042653002000081653001200101653001600113653001100129653002500140653001000165653001500175100001200190700001300202245007700215856004500292300000700337490000600344520142900350 2018 d10aNeglected tropical diseases (NTDs)10aschistosomiasis10aControl10aElimination10aAfrica10aoperational research10aGoals10aGuidelines1 aSecor W1 aColley D00aWhen should the emphasis on schistosomiasis control move to elimination? uhttp://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/3/3/85/pdf a850 v33 a
The stated goal of the World Health Organization’s program on schistosomiasis is paraphrased as follows: to control morbidity and eliminate transmission where feasible. Switching from a goal of controlling morbidity to interrupting transmission may well be currently feasible in some countries in the Caribbean, some areas in South America, northern Africa, and selected endemic areas in sub-Saharan Africa where there have been improvements in sanitation and access to clean water. However, in most of sub-Saharan Africa, where programmatic interventions still consist solely of annual mass drug administration, such a switch in strategies remains premature. There is a continued need for operational research on how best to reduce transmission to a point where interruption of transmission may be achievable. The level of infection at which it is feasible to transition from control to elimination must also be defined. In parallel, there is also a need to develop and evaluate approaches for achieving and validating elimination. There are currently neither evidence-based methods nor tools for breaking transmission or verifying that it has been accomplished. The basis for these statements stems from numerous studies that will be reviewed and summarized in this article; many, but not all of which were undertaken as part of SCORE, the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation.