BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Epidemiological studies were carried out to assess the prevalence and community microfilarial load (CMFL) of onchocerciasis after repeated annual treatment with ivermectin along Ogun river System, southwest Nigeria. METHOD Skin snips were taken from consented participants in 11 selected communities along the River system. The microfilarial load of the community was esti...

BACKGROUND Onchocerciasis is a severe parasitic infestation which causes disabling skin and subcutaneous tissue changes. Current global estimates suggest that it accounts for 1135.7 disability adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 population. The disease is endemic in many African countries including Cameroon, probably suggesting that the current health policies are inadequate to achieve erad...

We conducted a nodule prevalence survey in four onchocerciasis sentinel communities in Moyo and two in Kanungu districts of Uganda. Seven (33.3%) out of 21 excised "onchocercomas" (nodules) in Moyo District and excised onchocercomas from four of six persons in Kanungu District turned out to be cysts of Taenia solium. We concluded that the prediction of nodule prevalence for noninvasive rapid ep...

Onchocerciasis or "river blindness" is a chronic parasitic neglected tropical disease which is endemic both in mainland and insular Equatorial Guinea. We aim to estimate the current epidemiological situation of onchocerciasis in Bioko Island after vector elimination in 2005 and more than sixteen years of Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) by using molecular and serological appr...

BACKGROUND The fight against onchocerciasis in Africa has boomed thanks to the Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) program. However, in Cameroon, after more than 15 years of mass treatment, onchocerciasis prevalence is still above the non-transmission threshold. This study aimed to explore a possible association between people's beliefs/perceptions of onchocerciasis and of CDTI ...

An estimated 17.7 million persons, most of them in Africa, are infected with the parasite Onchocerca volvulus. Onchocerciasis has caused blindness in 270,000 and left another 500,000 with severe visual impairment. Onchocerciasis also can cause disfiguring skin changes, musculoskeletal complaints, weight loss, changes in immune function, epilepsy, and growth arrest. The development of ivermec...

BACKGROUND Mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin for onchocerciasis was provided in Guatemala's Central Endemic Zone (CEZ) over a 24 year period (1988-2011). Elimination of Onchocerca volvulus transmission was declared in 2015 after a three year post MDA surveillance period (2012-2014) showed no evidence of recrudescence. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge, ...

Autoimmune mechanisms are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of the chorioretinal changes in ocular onchocerciasis. In this study, the involvement of autoimmunity against retinal antigens in developing chorioretinitis was investigated. Serum levels of autoantibodies, directed against human S-antigen and interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP), were determined in patients with...

background : the imo river basin, nigeria is endemic for onchocerciasis, bancroftian filariasis, loaiasis and mansonellosis. this study was aimed at determining the clinical manifestations of onchocerciasis in this region. methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out in 2006 in umuowaibu i and ndiorji commu­nities in okigwe local government area of imo state, nigeria. consenting individuals...