Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis

Abstract

The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) inaugurated in 2000 is a unique ʻadventureʼ in a sense that it targets one of the most neglected diseases at a global scale. To accomplish this ambitious program, not only health professionals but community people have been playing an essential role in distributing a huge number of antifilarial drugs. Approximately 500 million people are treated annually worldwide, including numberless ʻneglectedʼ people in remote rural areas. GPELF is said to be one of the most rapidly expanding global health programs in the history of public health. With its cost-effective, systematic mechanism, 60 of 73 endemic countries are conducting national ʻmass drug administrationʼ campaign, and 15 of them are now close to the elimination of filariasis. How can this kind of program be implemented and maintained for more than a decade? What are the achievements and their public health and scientific implications? This review summarizes these topics with emphasis on key researches and field operations which have facilitated this unprecedented program.