Epidemiological monitoring survey to assess the impact of mass drug administration with triple-drug regimen in lymphatic filariasis elimination programme in an endemic district in Southern India

Abstract

Mass Drug Administration (MDA) with triple-drug regimen (Ivermectin, Diethylcar-bamazine, and Albendazole-IDA), recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) was introduced in India in 2018, as an alternate strategy to two drug regimens (Diethylcarbamazine, and Albendazole-DA), for accelerating lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination. By December 2023, IDA-MDA has been implemented in 63 LF endemic districts in India. The currently followed monitoring and evaluation (M&E) guidelines for DA may not be suitable to this new strategy. The WHO is developing a new M&E guideline for IDA-based MDA which recommends surveys referred to as Epide-miological Monitoring Survey (EMS) before the IDA Impact Survey (IIS), similar to pre-transmission assessment survey (preTAS) and transmission assessment survey (TAS) for DA-based MDA. The National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control (NCVBDC) recently revised its M&E guidelines and downsized the evaluation unit to the health block from district level. In the present study, an EMS was conducted in two health blocks of Bidar district in Karnataka, India, in July 2023, following two effective rounds of IDA-MDA to assess its eligibility for an IIS.