Aims: This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of blindness and its main aetiologies in Bioko, an onchocerciasis endemic zone of Equatorial Guinea. Methods: Random sampling was applied, proportionally to population distribution into urban or rural areas. All the subjects underwent a basic eye examination by trained nurses. In the presence of any ocular affection or a visual acuity of ...

A population based survey on the prevalence of major blinding disorders was conducted in the Wenchi district in central Ghana between March and May 1991. In 10 villages, 1425 people of 30 years and older were screened, using the WHO eye examination record. The prevalence of bilateral blindness above 30 years proved to be 1.7% (best acuity < 3/60): the prevalence of low vision above 30 years was...

Human onchocerciasis, caused by the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus, is controlled almost exclusively by the drug ivermectin, which prevents pathology by targeting the microfilariae. However, this reliance on a single control tool has led to interest in vaccination as a potentially complementary strategy. Here, we describe the results of a trial in West Africa to evaluate a multivalent, s...

The four diseases discussed in this chapter (dracunculiasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, and trachoma) are among the officially designated "Neglected Tropical Diseases," and each is also both the result of and a contributor to the poverty of many rural populations. To various degrees, they all have adverse effects on health, agricultural productivity, and education. The Carter Center decid...

The occurrence of epileptic seizures during onchocercal infestation has been suspected. Epidemiologic studies are necessary to confirm the relation between onchocerciasis and epilepsy. A matched case-control study was conducted in dispensaries of three northwestern towns of the Central African Republic. Each epileptic case was matched against two nonepileptic controls on the six criteria of sex...

A review of 1987 patients with uveitis seen over an 11-year period in Bendel State of Nigeria has been undertaken; 56% of cases had a posterior/mid-peripheral uveitis, 15.1% a panuveitis, 21.5% an anterior uveitis. Acute anterior uveitis with classical symptoms was rarely seen. Its comparative rarity is presumably due to the absence of HL-A27 in Africans and altered immunological states from ma...

We identified Onchocerca jakutensis as the causative agent of an unusual human filariasis in a patient with lupus erythematosus. To our knowledge, this is the first case of human infection with O. jakutensis and the first human case of zoonotic onchocercosis involving >1 worm.

Onchocercosis, caused by Onchocerca flexuosa, was observed in red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Spain for the first time. Adult specimens of P. flexuosa were found in nodules in subcutaneous tissues in 42 of 125 (33%) red deer between October 1994 and September 1995; intensity of infection +/- SD was 3.93 +/- 5.26 nodules per infected host. A clear seasonal pattern in the distribution of nodules w...