Variation in delayed hypersensitivity in onchocerciasis

Soluble antigen preparations were made from Onchocerca volvulus adults recovered from subcutaneous nodules, and from Necator americanus third-stage larvae. Intradermal skin tests were carried out on a total of 100 individuals clinically classified as having either the generalized form of onchocerciasis (86 cases, or the localized sowda form (14 cases). 91 of the people studied produced immediate reactions to the onchocercal antigen, but only those with sowda showed delayed reactions, though one person with generalized disease showed a doubtful delayed reaction. Reactions to N. americanus antigen, both immediate and delayed, were seen in both forms of the disease. The lack of delayed skin reaction in the generalized form of onchocerciasis is discussed, and a comparison is made with other diseases. Preliminary evidence for the existence of a true spectrum of clinical and immunological forms of onchocerciasis is suggested by one case in this study.