ArticleBMC public health2021
Spatial variation in lymphatic filariasis risk factors of hotspot zones in Ghana.
Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of mosquito sampling strategies on molecular xenomonitoring prevalence for filariasis: a systematic review.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2024Pooled it
- Climate change impact on disease emergence and antimicrobial resistance: A perspective on transmission and detection.iScience · 2026Review
- Potential of machine learning for prevention and control of neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Advances in mosquito-borne disease surveillance using machine learning.New microbes and new infections · 2026Article
- Evidence based targeting of districts for active surveillance of skin-related neglected tropical diseases in Ghana.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Integrating geospatial tools is crucial for enhancing control strategies against human lymphatic filarial infections in Ghana: A comprehensive review.Parasite epidemiology and control · 2025Review
- Geospatial analysis ofJournal of parasitic diseases : official organ of the Indian Society for Parasitology · 2025Article
- Article
- Ghana's path towards eliminating lymphatic filariasis.Tropical medicine and health · 2024Review
- Towards Understanding the Microepidemiology of Lymphatic Filariasis at the Community Level in Ghana.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2024Article
- Socio-economic and environmental factors associated with high lymphatic filariasis morbidity prevalence distribution in Bangladesh.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Spatial predictive risk mapping of lymphatic filariasis residual hotspots in American Samoa using demographic and environmental factors.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Spatially Explicit Environmental Factors Associated with Lymphatic Filariasis Infection in American Samoa.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- Artificial intelligence and lymphedema: State of the art.Journal of clinical and translational research · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLymphatic Filariasis (LF), a parasitic nematode infection, poses a huge economic burden to affected countries. LF endemicity is localized and its prevalence is spatially heterogeneous. In Ghana, there exists differences in LF prevalence and multiplicity of symptoms in the country's northern and southern parts. Species distribution models (SDMs) have been utilized to explore the suite of risk factors that influence the transmission of LF in these geographically distinct regions.
methodsPresence-absence records of microfilaria (mf) cases were stratified into northern and southern zones and used to run SDMs, while climate, socioeconomic, and land cover variables provided explanatory information. Generalized Linear Model (GLM), Generalized Boosted Model (GBM), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Surface Range Envelope (SRE), Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS), and Random Forests (RF) algorithms were run for both study zones and also for the entire country for comparison.
resultsBest model quality was obtained with RF and GBM algorithms with the highest Area under the Curve (AUC) of 0.98 and 0.95, respectively. The models predicted high suitable environments for LF transmission in the short grass savanna (northern) and coastal (southern) areas of Ghana. Mainly, land cover and socioeconomic variables such as proximity to inland water bodies and population density uniquely influenced LF transmission in the south. At the same time, poor housing was a distinctive risk factor in the north. Precipitation, temperature, slope, and poverty were common risk factors but with subtle variations in response values, which were confirmed by the countrywide model.
conclusionsThis study has demonstrated that different variable combinations influence the occurrence of lymphatic filariasis in northern and southern Ghana. Thus, an understanding of the geographic distinctness in risk factors is required to inform on the development of area-specific transmission control systems towards LF elimination in Ghana and internationally.
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