Epidemiology of Bancroftian filariasis in the Kassena-Nankana District of Northern Ghana

Location :Navrongo - Ghana

Investigators :Dr Johnny Gyapong, Professor Pascal Magnussen, Dr Fred Binka

Collaboration : Navrongo Health Research Centre and the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratories

Funding : Danish Bilharzia Laboratories

Period Covered: 08/1992-09/1992

BACKGROUND OBJECTIVES SUMMARY RESULTS

BACKGROUND

Lymphatic filariasis in its various forms remains a major public health problem in many tropical countries. It is a disease affecting people in rural areas as well as people living in urban slums where sanitation is very poor. Most counties have put in much priority on the control of lymphatic filariasis apparently because the infection is insidious, difficult to treat completely and mortality attributable to it is virtually zero.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the epidemiology of lymphatic filariasis.

SUMMARY

Prevalence of lymphatic filariasis was conducted on a total of 200 compounds randomly selected in the Kassena-Nankana District. All resident compound members were examined for clinical manifestations of lymphatic filariasis. Capillary blood was drawn between 2100 and 0200 hours and examined using the counting chamber technique.

RESULTS

Out of 1603 people examined, the prevalence was 32.4% (CI 30.1-34.7). Geometric Mean Density was 794 mf/ml for all positives. Clinical manifestation included: Hydrocoele (32%) and limb elephantiasis(3.6%). With all clinical manifestations it was found that microfilaria positively was related to early stages of the manifestations. The results of this study confirm that lymphatic filariasis is a major problem in the Kassena-Nankana district of the Upper East Region of Ghana. The disease rates are comparable with earlier reports. Many other studies in Africa and India have reported high prevalence rates of hydrocele in areas of intense filariasis infection and transmission. The importance of high prevalence rates of hydrocele as an indicator for the magnitude of burden of and probably the intensity of transmission should therefore be seriously considered.