Working Towards the Local Elimination of Multiple Neglected Tropical Diseases

Felix Lankester of Washington State University in the U.S. will determine whether integrating a mass drug administration campaign targeting soil-transmitted helminth infections with a mass dog rabies vaccination campaign reduces costs and extends treatment coverage for these diseases, which are endemic in Tanzania. Collaborators include: Safari Kinunghi - National Institute of Medical Research, Tanzania, Sarah Cleaveland - University of Glasgow and Deborah Watson Jones - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Current mass drug administration efforts mostly target schools, neglecting the young, adult and elderly populations, and often lack community support. They are also difficult to extend to rural communities. However, many people in rural communities own dogs, and are willing to participate in rabies vaccination campaigns. They will perform a randomized cluster controlled trial involving 60 villages receiving either integrated or non-integrated control strategies, and evaluate their effect on disease prevalence and treatment uptake.