In May 2023 Irina Diekmann, a veterinarian and postdoc at Washington University, traveled to Belitung Island, Indonesia to assist Professor Taniawati Supali and her team at the Universitas Indonesia, trap crab-eating macaques for blood collection to determine if they are a potential animal reservoir of B. malayi. B. malayi, a filarial nematode and one of […]
Author: Peter Fischer, PhD
A New DOLF Publication Highlights Promising New Results in Support of Onchocerciasis Elimination
Onchocerciasis (“river blindness”), a parasitic disease that leads to debilitating and stigmatizing ailments, has been targeted by the World Health Organization for elimination. New drug treatments that kill or permanently sterilize female worms could accelerate this process. The DOLF team, together with our partners at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ghana […]
The DOLF Team’s 2022: Year in Review
As we look towards a new year, we wanted to share some highlights from 2022, a year that saw many new advances and developments in our research on Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) and Onchocerciasis (Oncho). LF research Cote d’Ivoire. In late winter, DOLF team members traveled to Côte d’Ivoire for 12-month follow-up visits for patients enrolled […]
Welcome to DOLF’s new Postdoctoral Research Associate- Dr. Adebiyi Adeniran
Adebiyi is a molecular entomologist and molecular parasitologist with over a decade of Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) research and control program experience in sub-Saharan Africa and in Mexico. Adebiyi has previously worked as the Regional Technical Lead for NTD diagnostics for Sightsavers UK, where he provided technical and advisory support to NTD control programs in […]
Eleven DOLF Project publications on triple drug (IDA) mass drug administration for elimination of lymphatic filariasis have now been bundled as a PLoS Collection
PloS “Collections” are useful for readers and researchers alike, because provide easy access to related articles on high priority topics that have been published in PLoS journals at different times. This collection (published June 16, 2022) focuses on clinical trials and community studies of the safety, efficacy, and acceptability of the triple drug regimen IDA […]
DOLF Team receives a $1.8 million Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant to Explore Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination in Indonesia
Over a decade ago, Indonesia had one of the largest populations endemic for lymphatic filariasis (LF) in the world with 50% of the districts endemic for this mosquito borne disease. The country consists of 6,000 inhabited island and stretches over 3,000 miles from east to west. While some districts have eliminated LF by mass drug […]
Development of new treatments for Riverblindness
Development of new treatments for Riverblindness: Facilitated histological assessment of Onchocerca volvulus nodules to detect treatment effects on adult worms Adult O. volvulus worms reside in subcutaneous nodules and can live up to 15 years. It requires special expert knowledge to differentiate natural morphological changes during its life span from changes induced by anti-filarial drugs […]
Welcome Betsy Abente, the DOLF Program’s new Global Health Program Manager for Administration and Finance
Joining the team in November, Betsy brings over 15 years of global health experience, including nearly a decade of research administration at Washington University to the team. In her previous role as Associate Director for the International Center for Child Health and Development, she helped develop and manage the center’s growing capacity building arm as […]
DOLF Presentations – ASTMH Meeting
DOLF Presentations at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (Virtual, November 2021) Symposium: Clinical development of new treatments to support the global elimination of onchocerciasis. GJ Weil, C Hanson, N Opoku, A Hoerauf, S. Specht, M Sullivan. Coverage and impact of a single dose of ivermectin, DEC and albendazole […]
DOLF team recognized for their research on LF in Ivory Coast
DOLF researchers Benjamin Koudou, Allassane Ouattara, Catherine Bjerum, and colleagues were recently honored to receive the 11th CSRS-Eremitage Fund Prize for Scientific Research in Partnership from the Swiss Center for Scientific Research in Côte d’Ivoire. The prize recognizes the team’s pioneering research on new treatments for lymphatic filariasis, a disabling and disfiguring parasitic disease that […]
Highlighting DOLF Publications
First Half of 2021 Eneanya OA, Koudou BG, Aboulaye M, Elvis AA, Souleymane Y, Kouakou MM, Weil GJ, Fischer PU. Progress towards onchocerciasis elimination in Côte d’Ivoire: A geospatial modelling study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Feb 10;15(2):e0009091. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009091. eCollection 2021 Feb PMID: 33566805. This study reviewed dramatic improvements in onchocerciasis endemicity that have occurred […]
Publications from Clinical Trials
The DOLF project is pleased to share several recent publications from clinical trials and community studies of alternative treatments for lymphatic filariasis. All of these have been published with open access. The first two articles (by Campillo et al and Ouattara et al) provide further strong evidence in support of the WHO recommendation to use […]
The DOLF Program welcomes Nicole Fetcho as the new Program Manager
Previously Nicole was DOLF’s Data Manager for 15 months before stepping into the role as Program Manager. Nicole served for one year in AmeriCorps conducting HIV prevention with high-risk populations in Cleveland, Ohio. After AmeriCorps, Nicole received her Master’s in Public Health from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis with a specialization […]
New clinical trial for treatment of LF in Cote d’Ivoire
DOLF project studies have demonstrated the safety and superior efficacy of IDA (a triple drug regimen of ivermectin, DEC, and albendazole) for treatment of lymphatic filariasis (LF). Moxidectin is a new drug that was recently approved for treatment of onchocerciasis. It is more effective than ivermectin for long-term clearance of O. volvulus parasites from the […]
DOLF Project Ophthalmologists Publish Short Case Report
DOLF project ophthalmologists Michael Gyasi and Augustine Hong have published a short case report of a patient with ocular onchocerciasis. This includes a photo and a very interesting video with motile microfilariae in the anterior chamber of the eye (open access, see “supplements”) that people may want to use for teaching or social mobilization. Microfilarial […]
Update on IDA treatment published
DOLF researchers provide update on long term effect of IDA triple drug treatment for lymphatic filariasis. N Engl J Med. 2018;382(20):1956-1957
DOLF Laboratory Core Improves Microscopy Technology
The lab in St. Louis received an Olympus VS120-S6 microscope and slide scanner. Microscopy is essential to study the effect of drugs on adult Onchocerca volvulus worms. However, drug-related morphological changes are sometimes difficult to differentiate from age-related changes of the worms. Unfortunately, is the technical expertise to judge worms in histological nodule sections vanishing […]