Lymphatic Filariasis
Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) has been successfully controlled in China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, Costa Rica and Korea. National elimination programs are ongoing in 44 out of 83 endemic countries. The strategy is based on annual mass drug administration (MDA) of donated drugs (albendazole by GSK and ivermectin by Merck & Co. Inc.) or another inexpensive drug, diethylcarbamazine (DEC). Since the program started in 2000, over 1 billion treatments have been given.
Onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis (River Blindness) has been eliminated as a public health problem and as a disease of socio-economic importance in ten West African countries, to the benefit of some 60 million people. Control of blindness and skin disease through community-directed distribution of Mectizan (donated by Merck & Co. Inc.) reached more than 62 million people in 19 countries in 2006, via the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC).
The Onchocerciasis Elimination Program in the Americas (OEPA) is close to achieving the cessation of transmission in several key areas in six countries using twice-yearly treatments. Through active financial and technical partnerships with ministries of health, PAHO, and the CDC, OEPA is on the verge of eliminating onchocerciasis in the Americas.
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis prevalence in Egypt has been reduced from around 20% to less than 1-2% over the past two decades using praziquantel, which is now available at US $0.25 per treatment. China has also made substantial progress in reducing the burden of schistosomiasis, reducing the number of cases nationwide to less than 1 million. Also, in the past four years, programs supported by the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, a member of the Global Network, have significantly reduced prevalence rates and intensity of infection rates in Uganda, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Tanzania.
Trachoma
Trachoma prevalence globally has been reduced from 149 million cases in 1997 to 60 million cases in 2008 thanks to the implementation of the WHO-developed SAFE strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Face washing, Environmental change), which includes the use of Pfizer-donated azithromycin. Oman (2005), Morocco and Mexico (2007) have eliminated blinding trachoma thanks to socio-economic development and the continued support of the WHO-GET 2020 Global Alliance. Another 15 countries are applying the SAFE strategy successfully to achieve a sustained elimination of blinding trachoma.
Guinea Worm
Guinea Worm is nearing eradication. The number of cases has been dramatically reduced from over 1 million in 1988 to around 10, 000 in 2005 in the remaining nine endemic countries. Several countries have been certified as free of transmission (India, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, and Senegal) and several others are in the pre-certification phase.
Human African trypanosomiasis
The prevalence of Human African trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness) has been dramatically reduced to between 30,000 and 50,000 cases. This is due to drugs becoming free of charge and control activities becoming supported through a public-private partnership between sanofi-aventis and the WHO.
Leprosy
The numbers of new Leprosy cases per year have fallen dramatically, and the disease remains a public health problem in only seven of the more than 100 countries that used to be endemic. Since 1985, some 14.5 million people have been cured through multi-drug therapy. The drugs for curing leprosy are donated by Novartis.
