The DOLF project celebrated an important milestone on February 9th. Our Community Based Safety Study of 2-drug vs. 3-drug Therapy for Lymphatic Filariasis completed enrolling and treating 10,000 participants in each of the treatment arms. This achieves the primary objective of the study: measuring the treatment related adverse events following treatment with the 3-drug combination therapy as compared to the standard 2-drug therapy. Soon, DOLF investigators will provide the dataset to an independent review committee at the WHO. This is the first step toward a WHO decision about whether to recommend the 3-drug therapy for mass drug administration programs to eliminate lymphatic filariasis outside of Africa.
Many people across the globe have worked hard to reach this milestone. In September 2015 the study was proposed at a meeting in Seattle. Seventeen months later DOLF collaborators have dosed more than 20,000 participants across 4 countries! But, the work is not over. While enrollment is completed at study sites in Indonesia and Haiti, our collaborators in India and Papua New Guinea will continue until they have reached their enrollment targets. A related study will soon be initiated at a fifth site in Fiji. Other aspects of the study including community acceptance surveys, and efficacy follow-up studies will continue into 2018.
Study staff enrolling and distributing drugs at sites in Haiti and Indonesia. Teams like these have worked hard to enroll more than 20,000 participants in 5 months across study sites in Haiti, India, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.