Defining schistosomiasis hotspots based on literature and shareholder interviews

Rivka M. Lim*, Thomas M. Arme, Amy B. Pedersen, Joanne P. Webster, Poppy H. L. Lamberton

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently proposed a new operational definition which designates communities with ≥10% prevalence of Schistosoma spp. infection as a persistent hotspot, when, after at least two rounds of high-coverage annual preventive chemotherapy, there is a lack of appropriate reduction. However, inconsistencies and challenges from both biological and operational perspectives remain, making the prescriptive use of this definition difficult. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the use of the term 'hotspot' across schistosomiasis research over time, including both literature searches and opinions from a range of stakeholders, to assess the utility and generalisability of the new WHO definition of a persistent hotspot. Importantly, we propose an updated definition based on our analyses.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1032-1049
Number of pages18
JournalTrends in Parasitology
Volume39
Issue number12
Early online date6 Oct 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Nov 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • hotspot
  • definition
  • schistosomiasis
  • control
  • elimination

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