Currently Available Monitoring and Surveillance Systems for Taenia spp., Echinococcus spp., Schistosoma spp., and Soil-Transmitted Helminths at the Control/Elimination Stage: A Systematic Review

An increasing global focus on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has resulted in the set up of numerous control and elimination activities worldwide. This is partly true for <i>Taenia solium</i> taeniasis/cysticercosis, the most important foodborne parasitic infection. Despite substantial progress, adequate monitoring and surveillance (M&amp;S) are required to sustain a status of control/elimination. This is often lacking, especially for <i>T. solium</i>. Therefore, the objective was to conduct a systematic literature review of the currently available M&amp;S systems at the control/elimination stage of the four top-ranked helminth NTDs. Specifically, <i>Taenia</i> spp., <i>Echinococcus</i> spp., <i>Schistosoma</i> spp., and soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) were considered to determine if there are any similarities between their M&amp;S systems and whether certain approaches can be adopted from each other. The systematic review demonstrated that rigorous M&amp;S systems have been designed for the control/elimination stage of both STHs and schistosomiasis, particularly in China. On the other hand, a concept of M&amp;S for <i>Taenia</i> spp. and <i>Echinococcus</i> spp. has not been fully developed yet, due to a lack of epidemiological data and the fact that many endemic countries are far away from reaching control/elimination. Moreover, accurate diagnostic tools for all four diseases are still imperfect, which complicates proper M&amp;S. Finally, there is an urgent need to develop and harmonize/standardize M&amp;S activities in order to reliably determine and compare the epidemiological situation worldwide.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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