Nilanthi de Silva

University of Kelaniya · Parasitology

Purpose This study investigated the prevalence of zoonotic filarial parasites within the canine and feline population in Mahawewa, Puttalam, and their vectors based on a brugian filariasis positive human case reported to the Anti-filariasis Campaign in January 2021. Methods & Materials All reachable dogs and cats, both stray and domestic, within a...

Sri Lanka achieved elimination status for lymphatic filariasis in 2016; still, the disease remains a potential public health issue. The present study is aimed at identifying a subperiodic Brugia sp. parasite which has reemerged in Sri Lanka after four decades via molecular-based analysis. Polymerase chain reaction performed with pan-filarial primer...

Introduction: Professionalism is a context-specific entity, and should be defined in relation to a country’s socio-cultural backdrop. This study aimed to develop a framework of medical professionalism relevant to the Sri Lankan context. Methods: An online Delphi study was conducted with local stakeholders of healthcare, to achieve consensus on the...

Background Brugian filariasis has re-emerged in Sri Lanka after four decades of quiescence. As microscopy alone was insufficient for ascertaining the species identity of the re-emerged sub-periodic Brugia spp. parasite, molecular speciation was performed. The transmission dynamics of the parasite was studied by entomological procedures. Methods Hum...

Background Brugian filariasis has re-emerged in Sri Lanka after four decades of quiescence. As microscopy alone was insufficient for ascertaining the species identity of the re-emerged sub-periodic Brugia spp. parasite, molecular speciation was performed. The transmission dynamics of the parasite was studied by entomological procedures. Methods Hum...

Background: Sri Lanka diagnosed its first local case of COVID-19 on 11 March 2020. The government acted swiftly to contain transmission, with extensive public health measures. At the end of 30 days, Sri Lanka had 197 cases, 54 recovered and 7 deaths; a staged relaxing of the lockdown is now underway. This paper proposes a theoretical basis for esti...

Ascariasis is the most prevalent human helminth infection, with an estimated 819 million infections worldwide. Transmission primarily occurs in warm, tropical climates that lack water and sanitation facilities and have poor hygiene. Worms inhabit the small intestine, and morbidity is related to worm burden. A small proportion of the infected popula...

Background: In Sri Lanka, deworming programmes for soil-transmitted helminth infections became an integral part of school health in the 1960s, whereas routine antenatal deworming with mebendazole started in the 1980s. A 2003 national soil-transmitted helminth survey done among schoolchildren found an overall prevalence of 6·9%. In our study, we ai...

Background: Human dirofilariasis is an emerging zoonosis in many countries. Dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria repens may present with diverse clinical manifestations in humans due to aberrant localization of worm lesions causing diagnostic dilemmas. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe and update the demography and clinical spect...

Background Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by vector-borne protozoans. In Sri Lanka, the cutaneous form of the disease is predominant, which is usually diagnosed using Giemsa-stained slit skin smear examination and by histology. However, the sensitivity of slit skin smears and histology are reportedly low. Moreover, facilities for the highly sens...

Human brugian filariasis has re-emerged in Sri Lanka after a quiescent period of four decades. This study investigated the prevalence of canine and feline filarial parasites in three localities with human sub-periodic brugian filariasis, in order to determine their potential reservoir status. All reachable dogs and cats, both stray and domestic, wi...

Area map showing the three surveillance sites, Madampe, Weliweriya and Wattala. (TIF)

Brugian filariasis

Background Sri Lanka was acknowledged to have eliminated lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem in 2016, largely due to its success in Mass Drug Administration (MDA) to interrupt disease transmission. Analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the national Morbidity Management and Disability Prevention...

For more than 100 years, countries have used mass drug administration as a public health response to soil-transmitted helminth infection. The series of analyses published as Disease Control Priorities is the World Bank's vehicle for exploring the cost-effectiveness and value for money of public health interventions. The first edition was published...

Background Post-mass drug administration (MDA) surveillance during the lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination program in Sri Lanka, revealed the re-emergence of brugian filariasis after four decades. This study was done with the objectives of investigating the epidemiology and age-specific vulnerability to infection. Surveillance was done using nigh...

Background: Clinically diagnosed amoebic liver abscess (ALA) caused by Entamoeba histolytica has been an important public health problem in Jaffna district, northern Sri Lanka for last three decades. In order to draw up a control strategy for elimination of this condition, knowledge of its epidemiology and factors associated with this condition in...

The realisation of human potential for development requires age-specific investment throughout the 8000 days of childhood and adolescence. Focus on the first 1000 days is an essential but insufficient investment. Intervention is also required in three later phases: the middle childhood growth and consolidation phase (5-9 years), when infection and...

The World Bank is publishing nine volumes of Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition (DCP3) between 2015 and 2018. Volume 9, Improving Health and Reducing Poverty, summarises the main messages from all the volumes and contains cross-cutting analyses. This Review draws on all nine volumes to convey conclusions. The analysis in DCP3 is built around 2...

About filariasis among cats and dogs in Sri Lanka

Brugian filriasis in Sri Lanka

Considering the high computer literacy of students and the need for being students centred, the MBBS programme of University of Kelaniya introduced a Moodle-based learning management system (LMS) as a supplementary component to its blended delivery approach of the curriculum. Accordingly, LMS is a parallel component to the curriculum delivered face...

Background Since 1985, amoebic liver abscess (ALA) has been a public health problem in northern Sri Lanka. Clinicians arrive at a diagnosis based on clinical and ultrasonographic findings, which cannot differentiate pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) from ALA. As the treatment and outcome of the ALA and PLA differs, determining the etiological agent is c...

Background Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are the most prevalent intestinal helminths of humans, and a major cause of morbidity in tropical and subtropical countries. The benzimidazole (BZ) drugs albendazole (ABZ) and mebendazole (MBZ) are used for treatment of human STH infections and this use is increasing dramatically with massive drug donati...

STARD Checklist (DOCX)

Suppression of mismatch amplification using the mismatch binding protein Taq MutS Full-match amplification was achieved using the WT primer set on three WT plasmid samples (red, yellow, blue). Mismatch amplification using the MT primer set without the addition of Taq MutS resulted in 15 min delay (purple, green, violet) while the inclusion of Taq M...

STARD Flowchart (DOCX)

Background: Sri Lanka was recently declared by WHO to have eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem, after conclusion of annual mass drug administration. Our aim was to assess the lymphatic filariasis situation, following mass drug administration. Methods: Surveillance was done in two districts of the Western Province in two co...

In the year 2002 the national Anti-filariasis Campaign launched the program for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) by annual mass drug administration (MDA) of diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole to the eligible at risk population in the three endemic provinces of Sri Lanka. The program was concluded in 2006 after completing five rounds...

Background: Primary gestational toxoplasmosis can be transmitted to the fetus with deleterious effects on the pregnancy. There is very little information regarding gestational toxoplasmosis in Sri Lanka. This survey was done to determine the prevalence and awareness of toxoplasmosis and to identify risk factors of infection among pregnant women in...

Background: Foodborne diseases are globally important, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality. Parasitic diseases often result in high burdens of disease in low and middle income countries and are frequently transmitted to humans via contaminated food. This study presents the first estimates of the global and regional human disease burd...

Illness and death from diseases caused by contaminated food are a constant threat to public health and a significant impediment to socio-economic development worldwide. To measure the global and regional burden of foodborne disease (FBD), the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG...

The Cochrane Library has recently published a 160-page, updated systematic review on deworming drugs for soil-transmitted intestinal worms in children, which concludes, “Treating children known to have worm infection may have some nutritional benefits for the individual. However, in mass treatment of all children in endemic areas, there is now subs...

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), or geohelminths, including Ascaris lumbricoides , Trichuris trichiura , Ancylostoma duodenale , Necator americanus , and Strongyloides stercoralis are a group of intestinal nematode parasites transmitted through contaminated soil, vegetables, and water. STH infections are leading neglected tropical diseases that a...

We explored the practicality of integrating surveillance for soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH, assessed by Kato-Katz) with transmission assessment surveys for lymphatic filariasis (LF) in two evaluation units (EUs) in Gampaha district, Sri Lanka (population 2.3 million). The surveys were performed 6 years after five annual rounds of mass drug ad...

Foodborne diseases (FBDs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the human population. Accurate information on the burden of FBDs is needed to inform policy makers and allocate appropriate resources for food safety control and intervention. Consequently, in 2006 the WHO launched an initiative to estimate the global burden of FBDs in terms...

Mebendazole has three polymorphic forms, identified as A, B and C. It has been suggested that unlike polymorph C, A is ineffective in the treatment of hookworm and whipworm infections. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was carried out to compare the efficacy of single dose 500 mg tablets of pure mebendazole Polymorph C with those...

To determine the prevalence of enterobiasis among school children in Ragama Medical Officer of Health (MOH) region and the association between clinical features, potential risk factors and infection status. Cross sectional study. School based. Participants 260 school children aged 5-7 years, attending five state schools in the Ragama MOH region. Pr...

To assess the impact of deworming and iron supplementation on the cognitive abilities and educational achievement of school-age children in Sri Lanka. Prospective, placebo-controlled randomised study. The treatment group received deworming and weekly iron supplementation for 6 months; the control group received placebo for both the anthelmintic and...

Background The public health impact of foodborne diseases globally is unknown. The WHO Initiative to Estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases was launched out of the need to fill this data gap. It is anticipated that this effort will enable policy makers and other stakeholders to set appropriate, evidence-informed priorities in the area of...

objective To assess the impact of deworming and iron supplementation on the cognitive abilities and educational achievement of school-age children in Sri Lanka. methods Prospective, placebo-controlled randomised study. The treatment group received deworming and weekly iron supplementation for 6 months; the control group received placebo for both th...

Background A cross sectional study conducted during the annual festival at Nallur temple in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 2010, showed that the prevalence of cutaneous larva migrants (CLM) among the devotees who performed the side roll ritual was 58.2% (95%CI: 51.2%–65.0%). Objective To test the hypothesis that the deworming stray dogs around the temple p...

The effect of helminth infections on allergic diseases is still inconclusive. Furthermore, the effect of helminth infections on childhood allergic diseases in a tropical area where prevalence of helminth infections has undergone dramatic changes is not well documented. To investigate the relationship between allergic diseases and helminth infection...

Following progressive reduction in confirmed cases of malaria from 2002 to 2007 (41,411 cases in 2002, 10,510 cases in 2003, 3,720 cases in 2004, 1,640 cases in 2005, 591 cases in 2006, and 198 cases in 2007). Sri Lanka entered the pre-elimination stage of malaria in 2008. One case of indigenous malaria and four other cases of imported malaria are...