JOEL MANDE LONEMA

Mr. JOEL MANDE LONEMA


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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SHShannon M Hedtke
Shannon M Hedtke
AKAnusha Kode
Anusha Kode
Tony Oka UketyTony Oka Ukety
Tony Oka Ukety
JLJOEL MANDE LONEMA
JOEL MANDE LONEMA
GAGermain M. Abhafule
Germain M. Abhafule
AKAnnette C. Kuesel
Annette C. Kuesel
WHO and endemic countries target elimination of transmission of Onchocerca volvulus, the parasite causing onchocerciasis. Population genetic analysis of O. volvulus may provide data to improve the evidence base for decisions on when, where, and for how long to deploy which interventions and post-intervention surveillance to achieve elimination. Development of necessary methods and tools requires parasites suitable for genetic analysis. Based on our experience with microfilariae obtained from different collaborators, we developed a microfilariae transfer procedure for large-scale studies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) comparing safety and efficacy of ivermectin, the mainstay of current onchocerciasis elimination strategies, and moxidectin, a new drug. This procedure is designed to increase the percentage of microfilariae in skin snips suitable for genetic analysis, improve assignment to metadata, and minimize time and materials needed by the researchers collecting the microfilariae. Among 664 microfilariae from South Sudan, 35.7% and 39.5% failed the mitochondrial and nuclear qPCR assay. Among the 576 microfilariae from DRC, 16.0% and 16.7% failed these assays, respectively. This difference may not only be related to the microfilariae transfer procedure but also to other factors, notably the ethanol concentration in the tubes in which microfilariae were stored (64% vs. ≥75%).