Gyapong J O, Webber R H, Morris J, Bennett S
Health Research Unit, Ministry of Health, Accra, Ghana.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1998 Jan-Feb;92(1):40-3. doi: 10.1016/s0035-9203(98)90948-8.
The real burden of lymphatic filariasis in most endemic areas remains unknown even thought it is a major public health problem in many tropical countries, particularly in sub-saharan African. The nocturnal periodicity of the parasite requires parasitological examinations to be done at night. The aim of this study was to develop and validate rapid epidemiological assessment tools for the community diagnosis of lymphatic filariasis, that may be used in the future to determine the distribution of the disease and identify high risk communities in Ghana. Twenty communities with varying endemicity of filariasis were sampled from 3 endemic districts. Community members were selected for the study using a modified Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI) cluster sampling technique. The prevalence of hydrocele was high (range 4.5-40.75%, mean = 17.78%) and the community prevalence of microfilaraemia correlated well with that of hydrocele (r = 0.84). The findings suggest that it is possible to obtain reliable and valid estimates of the community burden of lymphatic filariasis using the prevalence of hydrocele as a diagnostic index.
尽管淋巴丝虫病在许多热带国家，尤其是撒哈拉以南非洲地区是一个主要的公共卫生问题，但在大多数流行地区，其实际负担仍然未知。寄生虫的夜间周期性要求在夜间进行寄生虫学检查。本研究的目的是开发并验证用于淋巴丝虫病社区诊断的快速流行病学评估工具，未来可用于确定加纳该病的分布情况并识别高风险社区。从3个流行区抽取了20个丝虫病流行程度不同的社区。采用改良的扩大免疫规划（EPI）整群抽样技术选择社区成员进行研究。鞘膜积液的患病率很高（范围为4.5 - 40.75%，平均 = 17.78%），社区微丝蚴血症患病率与鞘膜积液患病率相关性良好（r = 0.84）。研究结果表明，以鞘膜积液患病率作为诊断指标，有可能获得淋巴丝虫病社区负担的可靠有效估计值。
