Course information Yaws is targeted for eradication by WHO in the 2021-2030 NTD Roadmap. It is therefore crucial to know how to identify cases, design and implement activities to eradicate the disease at the community level. In the context of integration of skin NTDs it is vital to learn to recogn ... ize a disease targeted for eradication. At the individual level yaws lesions may mimic other skin diseases. At the community level, it is key to know how to design and implement the total community treatment strategy and monitor its impact. This course aims at providing health workers with the basic knowledge to understand the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, impact, eradication strategy and reporting of yaws. more

Yaws is a chronic skin infection characterized by papillomas (noncancerous lumps) and ulcers. It is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, which belongs to the same group of bacteria that causes venereal syphilis.

Yaws forms part of a group of chronic bacterial infections commonly known as the endemic treponematoses. These diseases are caused by spiral bacteria of the genus Treponema, which also includes endemic syphilis (bejel) and pinta. Yaws is the most common of these three infections.

Yaws is targeted for eradication by 2030, using a strategy based on mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin. New diagnostics are needed to aid eradication. Serology is currently the mainstay for yaws diagnosis; however, inaccuracies associated with current serological tests makes it difficu ... lt to fully assess the need for and impact of eradication campaigns using these tools. Under the recommendation of the WHO Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) for Neglected Tropical Diseases(NTDs), a working group was assembled and tasked with agreeing on priority use cases for developing target product profiles (TPPs) for new diagnostics tools. more

Report of a global meeting on yaws eradication surveillance, monitoring and evaluation: Geneva, 29–30 January 2018. World Health Organization.