MDP remembers Rosalynn Carter: humanitarian and supporter of the fight against NTDs
The Mectizan Donation Program extends our deepest condolences to the Carter family and to our partners at The Carter Center for their loss. Rosalynn Carter’s legacy as a devoted humanitarian will live on as we continue the work to eliminate river blindness and lymphatic filariasis.
Mectizan Expert Committee concludes meeting #70
The 70th meeting of the Mectizan Expert Committee was held on October 30-31, 2023, in Dakar, Senegal, providing two days of information-sharing and discussion. The agenda included updates on MDP operations, lab capacity building, and discussion of operational requirements for implementation of mass drug administration of moxidectin, a potential additional medicine for the elimination of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. In addition, representatives from Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Senegal presented their perspectives on the need for enhanced cross-border collaboration around Senegal, which is currently under post-treatment surveillance for the elimination of onchocerciasis.
We thank the MEC, presenters, and participants for another informative MEC meeting.
Following the MEC meeting, the first meeting of the Global Onchocerciasis Network for Elimination (GONE) was also held in Saly, Senegal, November 1-2, 2023.
Our new video follows the path of Mectizan from the factory to the hands of those who need it
Since the start of the Mectizan Donation Program in 1987, over 12 billion tablets have been donated for elimination of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. How do all those tablets reach the people who need them? It’s a complicated process requiring the collaboration of many stakeholders. Watch our new video to examine the pillars of success for eliminating river blindness and lymphatic filariasis with Mectizan.
Weekly Epidemiological Reports for onchocerciasis and LF released
- Progress report on the elimination of human onchocerciasis, 2022-2023
- Global program to eliminate lymphatic filariasis: progress report, 2022
- Progress in eliminating onchocerciasis in the WHO Region of the Americas: Advances towards interrupting the transmission of onchocerciasis from the latest preliminary serological assessments conducted in parts of the Yanomami Focus Area, 2018–2022
Recent research of note published by MEC members and others
- Persons “never treated” in mass drug administration for lymphatic filariasis: identifying programmatic and research needs from a series of research review meetings 2020–2021. The MEC’s Dr. Alison Krentel was a co-author.
- Onchocerciasis: target product profiles of in vitro diagnostics to support onchocerciasis elimination mapping and mass drug administration stopping decisions. The MEC’s Dr. Yaya Coulibaly and Dr. Thomas Nutman were co-authors.
- The interruption of transmission of onchocerciasis in Kaduna, Kebbi and Zamfara states, Nigeria: another milestone achievement. The MEC’s Pr. B.E.B. Nwoke was a co-author.
- Evaluating post-treatment Loa loa microfilarial densities to classify serious adverse events caused by ivermectin: a retrospective analysis. The MEC’s Dr. Sébastien Pion was a co-author.
- Two Nigerian states (Plateau and Nasarawa) have eliminated transmission of Human Onchocerciasis—A Report of Post-Ivermectin Mass Drug Administration Surveillance. The MEC’s Dr. B.E.B. Nwoke was a co-author.
- Temporal variability of Loa loa microfilaraemia. The MEC’s Dr. Sébastien Pion was a co-author.
- Impact of short-term discontinuation of ivermectin-based chemoprevention on onchocerciasis transmission in endemic settings with long history of mass drug administration. The MEC’s Dr. Tom Nutman was a co-author.
- Improved NAAT assay for the diagnosis of onchocerciasis and its use for detection of circulating cell free DNA. The MEC’s Dr. Tom Nutman was a co-author.
- Socio-economic and environmental factors associated with high lymphatic filariasis morbidity prevalence distribution in Bangladesh. GSK’s Ms. Tijana Williams was a co-author.
*Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey USA, is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.
MDP oversees the donation of Mectizan® by Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA to eligible countries where river blindness and lymphatic filariasis are endemic. Merck & Co., Inc. is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. For the elimination of LF where onchocerciasis is co-endemic in Africa and Yemen, Mectizan is co-administered with albendazole, donated by GSK. In countries eligible for “triple therapy,” where onchocerciasis is not endemic, Mectizan and albendazole are co-administered with diethylcarbamazine (DEC) to accelerate LF elimination in some communities.