Global priorities in the control of onchocerciasis

Onchocerciasis is a major blinding disease. Appropriately, the World Health Organization, in cooperation with other United Nations agencies, supports two large-scale onchocerciasis programs. First, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases has provided major support for much of the recent research on onchocerciasis. Second, the Onchocerciasis Control Programme is an ambitious, service-oriented effort to eliminate onchocerciasis as a public health problem in the Volta River basin area of West Africa. Initially, the latter program focused on vector control measures; recently, however, it has launched a major chemotherapy development initiative. Taken together, these two programs provide comprehensive support for the development of chemotherapy and vector control measures. However, in the absence of another integrated research program, there is a need to strengthen the available support for research into the immunologic aspects of onchocerciasis.