Angela Cadavid Restrepo

Systematic review of the landscape epidemiology of lymphatic filariasis

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a parasitic infection that was targeted for global elimination by the World Health Organization. Human infection results in chronic disease with serious medical, social and economic consequences for vulnerable populations. As LF elimination programs progress towards the end stages, one of the key challenges is the identification of geographic areas where there is low level transmission or resurgence. This systematic review will highlight the importance of landscape epidemiology in the assessment of global, regional, local and individual vulnerabilities to LF based on the environmental processes that underlie LF transmission. This project aims i) to identify the relevant environmental sources of spatial variation in LF risk, ii) to describe the potential applications of landscape epidemiological studies to characterise the geographical patterns of LF transmission, and iii) to provide evidence on the use of this approach as a support tool for the implementation of spatially targeted interventions.