National mapping of 6 Neglected Tropical Diseases completed

Less than 6 months after the beginning of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Control programme in Burundi, the complete nation-wide mapping of 6 NTDs was accomplished.

Less than 6 months after the beginning of the NTD Control programme in Burundi, Dr Ndayishimiye and his team achieved the complete nation-wide mapping of 6 NTDs, namely schistosomiasis, three soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), lymphatic filariasis and trachoma.

Two teams comprised of nurses and lab technicians travelled throughout the country to visit randomly selected schools and communities.

In each school 60 children (10 to 16 years-old) were randomly selected and asked to provide stool samples to determine the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni and all 3 STHs.

In the communities, 100 adults (over 15 years-old; 50% males) were tested for LF. In half of the communities, the 50 adult women tested for LF were asked to present themselves each with a child aged 1 to 9 years-old. The 50 women and their 50 children were then tested for trachoma.

The results from this exercise will procure information to create representative prevalence/risk maps, which will be used to determine who and where to treat for the whole country.