Dataset Information

Defining the need for public health control of scabies in Solomon Islands.

ABSTRACT: Pacific Island countries have a high burden of scabies and impetigo. Understanding of the epidemiology of these diseases is needed to target public health interventions such as mass drug administration (MDA). The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of scabies and impetigo in Solomon Islands as well as the relationship between them and their distribution. We conducted a prevalence study in 20 villages in Western Province in Solomon Islands. All residents of the village were eligible to participate. Nurses conducted clinical assessments including history features and skin examination. Diagnosis of scabies was made using the 2020 International Alliance for the Control of Scabies diagnostic criteria. Assessments were completed on 5239 participants across 20 villages. Overall scabies prevalence was 15.0% (95%CI 11.8-19.1). There was considerable variation by village with a range of 3.3% to 42.6%. There was a higher prevalence of scabies in males (16.7%) than females (13.5%, adjusted relative risk 1.2, 95%CI 1.1-1.4). Children aged under two years had the highest prevalence (27%). Overall impetigo prevalence was 5.6% (95%CI 4.2-7.3), ranging from 1.4% to 19% by village. The population attributable risk of impetigo associated with scabies was 16.1% (95% CI 9.8-22.4). The prevalence of scabies in our study is comparable to previous studies in Solomon Islands, highlighting a persistent high burden of disease in the country, and the need for public health strategies for disease control.

SUBMITTER: Lake SJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7932527 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Defining the need for public health control of scabies in Solomon Islands.

Lake Susanna J SJ Engelman Daniel D Sokana Oliver O Nasi Titus T Boara Dickson D Grobler Anneke C AC Osti Millicent H MH Andrews Ross R Marks Michael M Whitfeld Margot J MJ Romani Lucia L Kaldor John M JM Steer Andrew C AC

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20210222 2

Pacific Island countries have a high burden of scabies and impetigo. Understanding of the epidemiology of these diseases is needed to target public health interventions such as mass drug administration (MDA). The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of scabies and impetigo in Solomon Islands as well as the relationship between them and their distribution. We conducted a prevalence study in 20 villages in Western Province in Solomon Islands. All residents of the village were eligible ...[more]

PMID: 33617544

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Project description:BackgroundScabies and impetigo are common, important and treatable skin conditions. Reports from several Pacific island countries show extremely high prevalence of these two conditions, but for many countries, including the Solomon Islands, there is a paucity of epidemiological data.MethodologyTen rural villages in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands were included in the study, chosen so that data collection could be integrated with an existing project investigating clinical and serological markers of yaws. All residents were eligible to participate, and 1908 people were enrolled. Participants were interviewed and examined by a paediatric registrar, who recorded relevant demographic information, and made a clinical diagnosis of scabies and/or impetigo, severity and distribution.Principal findingsThe total unweighted prevalence of scabies was 19.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 17.5-21.0), and age and gender weighted prevalence 19.2% (95%CI 16.7-21.9). The adult prevalence of scabies was 10.4% (95%CI 8.2-13.2), and the highest prevalence was found in infants < 1 year of age (34.1%, adjusted odds ratio [AOR] compared with adults: 3.6, 95%CI 2.2-6.0) and children aged 1-4 years (25.7%, AOR 2.6, 95%CI 1.7-3.9). Scabies affected two or more body regions in 80.9% of participants, and 4.4% of scabies cases were classified as severe. The total unweighted prevalence of active impetigo was 32.7% (95%CI 30.6-34.8), and age and gender weighted prevalence 26.7% (95%CI 24.2-29.5). The highest prevalence was found in children aged 1-4 years (42.6%, AOR compared with adults: 4.1, 95%CI 2.9-5.8). Scabies infestation was associated with active impetigo infection (AOR 2.0, 95%CI 1.6-2.6); with 41.1% of active impetigo cases also having scabies.Conclusions and significanceScabies and impetigo are very common in the rural Western Province of the Solomon Islands. Scabies infestation is strongly associated with impetigo. Community control strategies for scabies may reduce the burden of both conditions and their downstream complications.

Project description:Globally, groupers (Epinephelidae) that form fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) are highly vulnerable to overfishing and often require site-specific approaches to management. Over 5-years (2009-2013), we conducted underwater visual censuses (UVC) at a well-known spawning site at Njari Island, Gizo, Western Province, Solomon Islands, that supports aggregations of squaretail coralgrouper (Plectropomus areolatus), camouflage grouper (Epinephelus polyphekadion) and brown-marbled grouper (E. fuscoguttatus). Findings show that while there were species-specific variations in the duration and timing of the spawning season, aggregation densities peaked from March to June, representing the main spawning season for all three species. For P. areolatus, gonad analysis from samples taken from 2008 to 2011 confirmed reproductive activity in support of density trends observed through UVC. Over the 5-year UVC monitoring period, FSA densities declined for P. areolatus and E. polyphekadion. Conversely, following the first year of monitoring, E. fuscoguttatus densities increased. These inter-specific differences may reflect variable responses to fishing as shown elsewhere, or for example, differences in recruitment success. In response to known declines in FSAs of these species, in 2018 the Solomon Islands government placed a nationwide ban on these species' harvest and sale between October and January. As this study shows, this ban does not encompass the peak aggregation period at Njari and will offer limited protection to other FSAs of these species that are known to vary in reproductive seasonality across the Solomon Islands. A more biologically meaningful and practical management strategy would be to implement a nationwide ban on the harvest and sale of these groupers each month between full and new moons when these FSAs form consistently throughout the country. Since effective management of FSAs typically requires a combined approach, spatial management that protects both spawning sites and reproductive migratory corridors is warranted.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Malaria remains a challenge in Solomon Islands, despite government efforts to implement a coordinated control programme. This programme resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of cases and mortality however, malaria incidence remains high in the three most populated provinces. Anopheles farauti is the primary malaria vector and a better understanding of the spatial patterns parasite transmission is required in order to implement effective control measures. Previous entomological studies provide information on the ecological preferences of An. farauti but this information has never before been gathered and "translated" in useful tools as maps that provide information at both the national level and at the scale of villages, thus enabling local targeted control measures. METHODS:A literature review and consultation with entomology experts were used to determine and select environmental preferences of An. farauti. Remote sensing images were processed to translate these preferences into geolocated information to allow them to be used as the basis for a Transmission Suitability Index (TSI). Validation was developed from independent previous entomological studies with georeferenced locations of An. farauti. Then, TSI was autoscaled to ten classes for mapping. RESULTS:Key environmental preferences for the An. farauti were: distance to coastline, elevation, and availability of water sources. Based on these variables, a model was developed to provide a TSI. This TSI was developed using GIS and remote sensing image processing, resulting in maps and GIS raster layer for all the eight provinces and Honiara City at a 250 m spatial resolution. For a TSI ranging from 0 as not suitable to 13 as most suitable, all the previous collections of An. farauti had mean TSI value between 9 and 11 and were significantly higher than where the vector was searched for and absent. Resulting maps were provided after autoscaling the TSI into ten classes from 0 to 9 for visual clarity. CONCLUSIONS:The TSI model developed here provides useful predictions of likely malaria transmission larval sources based on the environmental preferences of the mosquito, An. farauti. These predictions can provide sufficient lead-time for agencies to target malaria prevention and control measures and can assist with effective deployment of limited resources. As the model is built on the known environmental preferences of An. farauti, the model should be completed and updated as soon as new information is available. Because the model did not include any other malaria transmission factors such as care availability, diagnostic time, treatment, prevention, and entomological parameters other than the ecological preferences neither, our suitability mapping represents the upper bound of transmission areas. The results of this study can now being used as the basis of a malaria monitoring system which has been jointly implemented by the Solomon Islands National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, the Solomon Islands Meteorological Services and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The TSI model development method can be applied to other regions of the world where this mosquito occurs and could be adapted for other species.

Dataset Information

Defining the need for public health control of scabies in Solomon Islands.

Publications

Defining the need for public health control of scabies in Solomon Islands.

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