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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Trop. Dis
Sec. Neglected Tropical Diseases
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1449719

A scoping review of lymphatic filariasis research in Zambia

Provisionally accepted
Hugh Shirley Hugh Shirley 1,2*Adrienne Orriols Adrienne Orriols 2,3Dylan Hogan Dylan Hogan 4Kingford Chimfwembe Kingford Chimfwembe 5,6Alinaswe Bwalya Alinaswe Bwalya 6Kaala Sibbuku Kaala Sibbuku 6Janelle Lardizabal Janelle Lardizabal 7Sophie Tillotson Sophie Tillotson 3Grace Grifferty Grace Grifferty 2,8Philip E. Coombs Philip E. Coombs 9Richard Wamai Richard Wamai 10,11,12,2
  • 1 Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
  • 2 African Centre for Community Investment in Health, Nginyang, Kenya
  • 3 College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States
  • 4 College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 5 Ministry of Health, Lusaka Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
  • 6 Chreso University, Lusaka, Zambia
  • 7 Division of Behavioral Neuroscience, College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 8 Department of Biology, College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 9 Northeastern University Library, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 10 Department of Cultures, Societies and Global Studies, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 11 Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
  • 12 Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos, Nigeria

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a neglected tropical disease caused by microfilariae mosquito-borne filarial nematodesof the Wuchereria bancrofti, and Brugia malayi, and B. timori. genus and spread by mosquitoes. Chronic infection leads to lymphatic dysfunction, resulting in lymphedema, elephantiasis, and hydrocele. Morbidity associated with infection leads to poor psychosocial and economic outcomes.LF elimination programs have been underway in many countries, including Zambia, a country in Sub-Saharan Africa where LF has long been endemic. Zambia has made great progress in moving towards elimination through a multipronged strategy involving mass drug administration, regular surveillance, and morbidity management and disease prevention. This scoping review aims to capture the breadth of literature published on LF in Zambia to support further research into the disease that may support ongoing elimination efforts, research gaps, and funding opportunities. The resulting screen found many articles focused on disease epidemiology in Zambia, but less research on vectors, treatment and prevention. There may be opportunities to better understand this disease in the Zambian context through filling in these research gaps.

    Keywords: lymphatic filariasis, Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), sub-Saharan Africa, Wuchereria bancrofti -parasite, Vector-borne disease (VBD), mosquito borne disease

    Received: 16 Jun 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shirley, Orriols, Hogan, Chimfwembe, Bwalya, Sibbuku, Lardizabal, Tillotson, Grifferty, Coombs and Wamai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hugh Shirley, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.