Target Product Profiles (TPP) for the development of new diagnostic tools to start and stop mass drug administration for scabies

Overview

In 2019, WHO held a first informal consultation on a framework for the public health control of scabies. In areas where the prevalence of scabies is particularly high, the best available evidence supports the use of ivermectin-based mass drug administration (MDA) to control scabies. This strategy consists of two doses of oral ivermectin delivered 7–14 days apart (with 5% topical permethrin offered to individuals in whom ivermectin is contraindicated).

On the basis of current best evidence, the informal recommendation is to start MDA in settings where the community prevalence of scabies is ≥ 10%. The current informal recommendation is to conduct 3–5 rounds of MDA before re-assessing the burden of the disease. If the prevalence of scabies is < 2%, then MDA can be stopped.

In 2021, the first national programmes were initiated in Fiji and the Solomon Islands supported by the World Scabies Programme. The new road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030 has set a target for 25 countries to have rolled out MDA for scabies control by 2030.