Following the publication of Guidelines on certification of elimination of human onchocerciasis in 2001 by the World Health Organization (WHO), these are the first evidence-based guidelines developed by NTD Department according to the international standards.

They provide a set of recommendations that would guide national programme managers in collaboration with their respective oversight committees on when to stop mass drug administration (MDA) and conduct post-treatment surveillance (PTS) activities for a minimum period of 3 to 5 year before confirming the interruption of transmission of Onchocerca volvulus parasite and hence its elimination.

They also include steps to undertake for verification of elimination of transmission of the parasite in the whole endemic country by the International Verification Team (IVT) prior to the official acknowledgement by WHO Director General.

Contents

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• GLOSSARY
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• 1. BACKGROUND
  • 1.1 INTRODUCTION
  • 1.2 CONTROL AND ELIMINATION OF HUMAN ONCHOCERCIASIS
  • 1.3 ONCHOCERCIASIS ELIMINATION PROGRAMMES AND THEIR PHASES
  • 1.4 DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
• 2. RATIONALE
• 3. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
• 4. TARGET AUDIENCE
• 5. METHODS
  • 5.1 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
  • 5.2 GUIDELINE QUESTIONS
  • 5.3 SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
  • 5.4 FORMULATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS
• 6. DECLARATION AND MANAGEMENT OF INTERESTS
• 7. RESULTS OF EVIDENCE RETRIEVAL, SYNTHESIS AND ASSESSMENT
• 8. RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 8.1 DEMONSTRATION OF THE INTERRUPTION OF TRANSMISSION OF O. VOLVULUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF STOPPING MDA
  • 8.2 CONFIRMATION OF INTERRUPTION OF TRANSMISSION OF ONCHOCERCA VOLVULUS AT THE END OF POST-TREATMENT SURVEILLANCE
• 9. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR STOPPING MDA AND VERIFYING ELIMINATION OF TRANSMISSION
  • 9.1 INTRODUCTION
  • 9.2 POST-TREATMENT SURVEILLANCE (PHASE 2)
  • 9.3 THE INTERNATIONAL VERIFICATION TEAM
  • 9.4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF ELIMINATION
  • 9.5 CONCLUSION
• 10. POST-ELIMINATION SURVEILLANCE (PHASE 3)
• 11. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
  • 11.1 REVISION
  • 11.2 MODELLING
• 12. DISSEMINATION AND EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF IMPLEMENTING THE GUIDELINES
• REFERENCES
• ANNEXES
  • Annex 1 Key questions
  • Annex 2 Summary of the evidence
  • Annex 3 Decision tables
  • Annex 4 Summary of declared interests
  • Annex 5 Preparation of the country report
  • Annex 6 Process of verification of elimination and role and responsibilities of the international verification team
  • Annex 7 Entomological evaluation of the impact of community-wide ivermectin distribution on Onchocerca volvulus transmission

Guidelines update date: 2020

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