Human onchocerciasis is a debilitating disease, which causes lymphatic obstruction and gives rise to genital elephantiasis. The microfilariae also cause severe itching, while invasion of the eyes by large numbers, and the reaction to their presence, lead to river blindness. This results in severe medical, social and economic problems (Stevenson 1987).The implications of the disease bring about ...

background: onchocerciasis is endemic in the imo river basin, nigeria. this study was aimed at assess­ing the prevalence and intensity of microfilaria of onchocerca volvulus in the area. methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out in the okigwe local government area, imo state, nige­ria. two skin snips (one from the waist and another from the shoulder) were taken from 1024 individu­als exa...

Recent progress in onchocerciasis research has led to improved understanding of the immunopathology of Onchocerca volvulus, as well as improvements in diagnosis and treatment of this morbid disease. This article reviews the recent literature, highlighting breakthroughs in sensitive means of antigen testing and an unusual new approach to therapy that targets an endosymbiotic bacterium required f...

Microfilariae of Onchocerca volvulus from Guatemala were examined by scanning electron microscope. There are numerous transverse striations on the cuticular surface. The number of annulations varies from 325 to 357. The anterior end forms a round cephalic cap which bears a V-shaped hook. Two small openings are present on the cephalic cap. They are probably the openings of one of the amphidial c...

Nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) rDNA sequences were used for a molecular phylogenetics analysis of five Onchocerca species. The sister species of the human parasite O. volvulus was found to be the cattle parasite O. ochengi and not O. gibsoni, contrary to chromosomal evidence. The genetic differentiation of two African populations (representing the two African strains) and a Brazil...

We report here the first complete mitochondria genome of Onchocerca volvulus from a focus outside of Africa. An O. volvulus mitogenome from the Brazilian Amazonia focus was obtained using a combination of high-throughput and Sanger sequencing technologies. Comparisons made between this mitochondrial genome and publicly available mitochondrial sequences identified 46 variant nucleotide positions...

Previous studies demonstrated that in the murine model of Onchocerca volvulus keratitis, neutrophils and eosinophils are recruited into the cornea in a biphasic manner in response to intrastromal injection. To determine if CD4(+) T cells regulate migration of neutrophils and eosinophils into the cornea, CD4(+) cells were depleted using monoclonal antibody GK1.5 before intrastromal injection of ...

INTRODUCTION Epilepsy is common in sub-Saharan Africa, but there is little data in West Africa, to develop public health measures for epilepsy in this region. METHODS We conducted a three-stage cross-sectional survey to determine the prevalence and risk factors for active convulsive epilepsy (ACE), and estimated the treatment gap in Kintampo situated in the middle of Ghana. RESULTS 249 peop...

Despite 40 years of control efforts, onchocerciasis (river blindness) remains one of the most important neglected tropical diseases, with 17 million people affected. The etiological agent, Onchocerca volvulus, is a filarial nematode with a complex lifecycle involving several distinct stages in the definitive host and blackfly vector. The challenges of obtaining sufficient material have prevente...

Onchocerciasis is a major cause of blindness worldwide, and much of the blindness is caused by onchocercal chorioretinitis. In an experimental animal model for ocular onchocerciasis, intravitreal injections of 10,000 live Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae isolated from infected humans into the eyes of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) resulted in patchy, progressive loss of retinal pigme...