[Onchocerciasis. Transmission--clinical aspects--diagnosis--treatment--immune relations]

Onchocerciasis is recognized as one of the most important filarial infections of man that involve grave dermatological disorders. The World Health Organization estimates that a total of 40 million people are suffering from this disease. Onchocerciasis means grave socioeconomic problems with very negative effects on general development in most regions where it is endemic. It often forces people to leave fertile agricultural valleys in an attempt to escape the disease and the flies that carry it. Though onchocerciasis has been known to medicine for over 100 years, it is only recently that it has started to be dealt with scientifically. In the last decade more has been learned about the parasite itself and about the medical aspects of infestation with it. This paper presents the mechanism of transmission, the clinico-epidemiological extent, the methods of diagnosis currently available, the immune response and the problems of both individual therapy and disease control.