Mass Screening and Treatment for Reduction of Falciparum Malaria
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2021-11-30
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In this project, the investigators aim at an operational research deployment of
Ultrasensitive Rapid Diagnostic Test (URDT) -based Mass Screening and Treatment (MSAT) in the
Malaria Elimination Task Force (METF) elimination program. This intervention will be tested
in two types of setting. In group 1, MSAT will be used in a programmatic setting in order to
decrease the reservoir of asymptomatic carriers in high incidence villages (following the
same principles and objective as previously deployed MDA interventions). In group 2, the
investigators take advantage of the lighter framework of MSAT to use it as a reactive
intervention in order to respond to malaria outbreaks in low to intermediate incidence
villages. The MSAT intervention will be preceded with community-level consent and community
engagement (CE) activities. MSAT will be conducted over a period of approximately 1 week in
each hamlet, village or group of villages, and will consist in administering a P. falciparum
URDT to all individuals agreeing to participate. A limited subgroup (expected 5-25%) will be
found positive and receive supervised treatment over 3 days for the standard regimen (DP to
cure asexual stage infection + single low-dose primaquine to destroy gametocytes). After this
intervention, the incidence of clinical falciparum episodes will be monitored by the village
MP. In group 1, a comparison of the prevalence at baseline and 12 months after MSAT
intervention will be performed through a second URDT survey, in addition to which both
baseline and 12-month surveys will include the collection of a 200µL capillary blood sample
for reference detection in the laboratory.
The intervention will be evaluated primarily on its ability to reduce yearly cumulative
incidence of clinical falciparum malaria compared to year before intervention. Additional
evaluations of the impact of MSAT will include: in group 1, comparison of asymptomatic
infection prevalence; and in group 2, modifications of the shape of the incidence curve
following intervention.