Some epidemiological aspects of yaws eradication.

Much has been learnt of the epidemiology of yaws during eradication campaigns in populations in which the prevalence of active yaws was high, but not all has been published. The recognition of the importance of latent cases in the maintenance of yaws has contributed to the effectiveness of these campaigns. Yaws eradication activities are extending into populations where at present active yaws is often not high. Planning of effective and economical eradication measures, especially in such populations, needs as complete a picture of the disease as possible, from its transmission and the factors that favour this until the death of the infected person, before or after cure of the infection either after chemotherapy or spontaneously.By revealing the many gaps that still remain in our knowledge of yaws, this summary may encourage those who have gathered valuable material during field work to study and prepare it for publication.