What is the latest on the eradication of yaws?
Feb 28, 2018 · Yaws eradication. 28 February 2018. Yaws is a chronic infectious disease that is closely linked to poverty. It is eradicable as humans are the only hosts. A global campaign using benzathine penicillin injection reduced 95% of global cases in the late 1960s. However, abandonment of programmes and weak surveillance led to resurgence in many ...
What is the drug of choice for yaws?
Mar 21, 2022 · The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Yaws Programme with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1952. It treated 300 million people in 50 countries and reduced global levels of the disease by more than 95% by the end of 1964.
What is yaws disease?
Feb 21, 2014 · he said. The WHO set 2020 as the deadline for the eradication of yaws, and has successfully carried out treatment campaigns using the new antibiotic in Congo-Brazzaville, Ghana, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. With a single dose given to everyone, the disease can quickly be eliminated from the community, said Mitjà.
Should we include yaws in the NTDS of diseases?
What is yaws eradication program?
Eradication of yaws defined as absence of new cases for a continuous period of three years, supported by absence of evidence of transmission through sero-survey among under-five children (i.e. no sero reactivity to RPR/VDRL in <5 yr children).
When is the yaws planned to be eradicated?
Yaws, one of the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), is targeted for eradication by 2020 in resolution WHA66. 12 of the World Health Assembly (2013) and the WHO roadmap on NTDs (2012). The disease frequently affects children who live in poor socioeconomic conditions.25 Sept 2014
When was India certified disease free status for yaws?
Based on the recommendations of the IVT, WHO Director General declared India free of Yaws at Geneva on 5th May, 2016.
Can yaws be eradicated?
Yaws is cured with a single oral dose of an inexpensive antibiotic called azithromycin. Yaws was one of the first diseases targeted for eradication in the 1950s. WHO renewed global efforts to eradicate yaws in 2012. There are 15 countries currently known to be endemic for yaws.10 Jan 2022
Is yaws the same as syphilis?
Syphilis is usually transmitted sexually and now has a global distribution. Yaws is characteristically an infection acquired during childhood through skin contact in remote regions of Africa, South Asia, and the Western Pacific islands.
Are yaws painful?
The disease begins with a round, hard swelling of the skin, 2 to 5 cm (0.79 to 1.97 in) in diameter. The center may break open and form an ulcer. This initial skin lesion typically heals after 3–6 months. After weeks to years, joints and bones may become painful, fatigue may develop, and new skin lesions may appear.
Is yaws eradicated from India?
India is the first country endemic for yaws to eradicate it, a goal the country achieved by years of using targeted awareness and early-treatment campaigns. This May, the WHO certified India yaws-free after an International Verification Team confirmed interruption of transmission of the disease late last year.20 Sept 2016
Is yaws eliminated from India?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS. India's successful elimination of yaws, a neglected tropical disease, leads the way towards global action to eradicate this disease. Its elimination has been a boon for marginalized and neglected poor populations in the affected areas.
Which disease is totally eradicated from India?
Polio: Polio has long been eradicated from India, and the entire South-East Asian region was declared polio-free in 2014. This meant that 80% of the global population could now be certified as polio-free.16 Mar 2022
Which countries have yaws?
12 endemic countries: Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Togo, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu; two countries certified elimination: India, Ecuador.2 Apr 2014
How do you test for yaws?
The diagnosis of stage 1 and stage 2 yaws is made by microscopic examination of tissue samples (darkfield examination) from the skin lesions of affected individuals. Stage 3 yaws may be diagnosed by specialized blood tests (i.e., VDRL and treponemal antibodies).
WHO is affected by yaws?
Yaws primarily affects children aged under 15 years who live in poor communities in warm, humid and tropical forested areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific islands. The majority of affected populations live rural areas, far from health services.
How long does it take for azithromycin to cure?
All tests have demonstrated excellent results with complete cure achieved within 2-3 weeks of a patient taking the required dose of the antibiotic.
How many countries will have azithromycin by 2020?
The availability of an oral antibiotic, new diagnostic tools, experience gained from pilot studies, and, India’s historic achievement all point to better prospects for eradication in the remaining 14 countries by 2020. The critical challenge is ensuring adequate provision of azithromycin to reach populations in need.
What was the public health problem in 1948?
When WHO was established in 1948, yaws and other bacterial infections caused by treponemes such as endemic syphilis (bejel) and pinta were some of the pressing public health problems it had to tackle head-on.
How many countries are yaws endemic?
The discovery in 2012 that a single, oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin can completely cure yaws has added momentum to eradication. Today, only 14 countries are known to be endemic.
What was the first drug to be used to treat yaws?
The "magic bullet" that revolutionized treatment. The development of benzathine penicillin coincided with the birth of WHO in 1948. The second World Health Assembly (1949) adopted a resolution to control yaws. Affected populations were treated with a single injection of benzathine penicillin with a spectacular cure within 2-3 weeks.
Why is yaws considered an end of the road disease?
Historically, yaws is considered as an “end of the road disease” because people affected are mostly poor and live in difficult-to-access areas. Health workers faced serious difficulties in reaching affected populations.
When did the eradication campaign start?
Start of the eradication campaign in 1952. Between 1952 and 1964, WHO and UNICEF supported mass treatment campaigns in 46 countries. WHO provided technical support and UNICEF gave logistical assistance. An estimated 300 million people were screened and over 50 million treated, reducing the disease burden by 95%.
How many countries have yaws?
Some 14 countries in three WHO regions are currently considered endemic for yaws: 8 in the African Region, 2 in the South-East Asia Region and 4 in the Western Pacific Region.
What is the WHO meeting?
The World Health Organization (WHO) is hosting a two-day meeting to discuss the development of surveillance, monitoring and evaluation as it prepares to roll-out the first phase of a renewed global campaign to eradicate yaws.
When did yaws get eradicated?
Yaws and other endemic treponematoses were almost eradicated in the mid-1960s after WHO and UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) jointly led a worldwide campaign in 46 countries between 1952 and 1964.
Can azithromycin be given orally?
In 2012, a study conducted in Papua New Guinea demonstrated that a single dose of azithromycin given orally can effectively cure yaws. This finding provided an opportunity to accelerate the eradication of yaws by overcoming the operational and logistic constraints of standard treatment with injectable penicillin. In 2013, the World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA66.12 on neglected tropical diseases, which targets the eradication of dracunculiasis (by 2015) and yaws (by 2020).
Signs and Symptoms
- Yaws initially presents as a papilloma teemed with bacteria, which makes clinical diagnosis straightforward. Without treatment, the papilloma will ulcerate. The diagnosis of the ulcerative form is more challenging and requires serological confirmation.Papilloma and ulcers are very inf…
Diagnosis
- Traditionally, laboratory-based serological tests such as Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) are widely used to diagnose treponemal infections (for example, syphilis and yaws). These testscannot distinguish yaws from syphilis, however, and the interpretation of results from these tests in adults who live in yaws endemic ar…
Treatment and Care
- Either of 2 antibiotics – azithromycin or benzathine penicillin – may be used to treat yaws: 1. Azithromycin (single oral dose) at 30 mg/kg (maximum 2 g) is the preferred treatment. 2. Benzathine penicillin (single intramuscular dose) at 0.6 million units (children aged under 10 years) and 1.2 million units (people aged over 10 years) can be used for patients with suspecte…
Prevention and Control
- There is no vaccine for yaws. Health education and improvement in personal hygiene are essential components to reduce transmission. Contacts of patients with yaws should receive empiric treatment. The eradication approach consists of mass treatment (also called Total community treatment, TCT) in which oral azithromycin (30 mg/kg, maximum 2 g) is administere…
Progress
- In 2020, as part of the agreement between WHO and the pharmaceutical company EMS Group (Brazil), 1.4 million tablets of azithromycin were sent to Cameroon for large-scale treatment (mass drug administration, or MDA). In 2021, EMS will provide 9 million tablets to support MDA in several countries, including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Papua New Guinea, Sol…
Who Response
- WHO's work on yaws eradication involves: 1. strategy development to guide countries in planning and implementing yaws eradication activities; 2. development of training material to help health workers and community volunteers identify the disease; 3. supporting countries via WHO-secured donation of 153 million tablets of azithromycin; 4. standardized tools to guide data collection an…
References
- (1) Yaws in the Philippines: first reported cases since the 1970s (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6990502/) (2) Yaws: The forgotten tropical skin disease (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8680937/) (3) Trial of Three Rounds of Mass Azithromycin Administration for Yaws Eradication (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3498…
Implementation Phases
Renewed Thrust For Global Eradication
- In 2012, a study conducted in Papua New Guinea demonstrated that a single dose of azithromycin given orally can effectively cure yaws. This finding provided an opportunity to accelerate the eradication of yaws by overcoming the operational and logistic constraints of standard treatment with injectable penicillin. In 2013, the World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA66.12 on …
Past Eradication Efforts
- Yaws and other endemic treponematoses were almost eradicated in the mid-1960s after WHO and UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) jointly led a worldwide campaign in 46 countries between 1952 and 1964. During this period, more than 300 million people were examined and about 50 million were treated with injectable penicillin.3By 1964, the prevalence of the diseases …