TY - JOUR
T1 - Leveraging wastewater-based epidemiology to monitor the spread of neglected tropical diseases in African communities
AU - Ofori, Benedict
AU - Agoha, Righteous Kwaku
AU - Bokoe, Edem Kwame
AU - Armah, Edna Naa Adukwei
AU - Misita Morang’a, Collins
AU - Sarpong, Kwabena Amofa Nketia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Society for Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Neglected tropical diseases continue to cause a significant burden worldwide, with Africa accounting for more than one-third of the global burden. Over the past decade, progress has been made in eliminating, controlling, and eradicating these diseases in Africa. By December 2022, 47 out of 54 African countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease, and more countries were close to achieving this milestone. Between 2020 and 2021, there was an 80 million reduction in people requiring intervention. However, continued efforts are needed to manage neglected tropical diseases and address their social and economic burden, as they deepen marginalisation and stigmatisation. Wastewater-based epidemiology involves analyzing wastewater to detect and quantify biomarkers of disease-causing pathogens. This approach can complement current disease surveillance systems in Africa and provide an additional layer of information for monitoring disease spread and detecting outbreaks. This is particularly important in Africa due to limited traditional surveillance methods. Wastewater-based epidemiology also provides a tsunami-like warning system for neglected tropical disease outbreaks and can facilitate timely intervention and optimised resource allocation, providing an unbiased reflection of the community’s health compared to traditional surveillance systems. In this review, we highlight the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology as an innovative approach for monitoring neglected tropical disease transmission within African communities and improving existing surveillance systems. Our analysis shows that wastewater-based epidemiology can enhance surveillance of neglected tropical diseases in Africa, improving early detection and management of Buruli ulcers, hookworm infections, ascariasis, schistosomiasis, dengue, chikungunya, echinococcosis, rabies, and cysticercosis for better disease control.
AB - Neglected tropical diseases continue to cause a significant burden worldwide, with Africa accounting for more than one-third of the global burden. Over the past decade, progress has been made in eliminating, controlling, and eradicating these diseases in Africa. By December 2022, 47 out of 54 African countries had eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease, and more countries were close to achieving this milestone. Between 2020 and 2021, there was an 80 million reduction in people requiring intervention. However, continued efforts are needed to manage neglected tropical diseases and address their social and economic burden, as they deepen marginalisation and stigmatisation. Wastewater-based epidemiology involves analyzing wastewater to detect and quantify biomarkers of disease-causing pathogens. This approach can complement current disease surveillance systems in Africa and provide an additional layer of information for monitoring disease spread and detecting outbreaks. This is particularly important in Africa due to limited traditional surveillance methods. Wastewater-based epidemiology also provides a tsunami-like warning system for neglected tropical disease outbreaks and can facilitate timely intervention and optimised resource allocation, providing an unbiased reflection of the community’s health compared to traditional surveillance systems. In this review, we highlight the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology as an innovative approach for monitoring neglected tropical disease transmission within African communities and improving existing surveillance systems. Our analysis shows that wastewater-based epidemiology can enhance surveillance of neglected tropical diseases in Africa, improving early detection and management of Buruli ulcers, hookworm infections, ascariasis, schistosomiasis, dengue, chikungunya, echinococcosis, rabies, and cysticercosis for better disease control.
KW - capacity building
KW - Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
KW - public health
KW - surveillance
KW - wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85197248676&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/23744235.2024.2369177
DO - 10.1080/23744235.2024.2369177
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85197248676
SN - 2374-4235
JO - Infectious Diseases
JF - Infectious Diseases
ER -