Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Maintaining Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Infected with Wolbachia
09:23

Maintaining Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Infected with Wolbachia

Published on: August 14, 2017

[Human onchocerciasis in Africa]

M Boussinesq1

  • 1ORSTOM, Paris, France.

Medecine Tropicale : Revue Du Corps De Sante Colonial
|January 1, 1997
PubMed

Insights

Onchocerciasis control has evolved from vector elimination to mass drug administration with ivermectin. Current research focuses on understanding the parasite, disease, and developing advanced diagnostics for better control strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Parasitology
  • Clinical Medicine
  • Epidemiology
  • Diagnostic Development

Context:

  • Historically, onchocerciasis control relied solely on blackfly vector elimination, notably in the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa (OCP).
  • The advent of ivermectin revolutionized onchocerciasis treatment, enabling mass drug administration and renewed research interest globally.
  • Focus has shifted to areas outside the OCP's former operational scope, necessitating updated control strategies.

Purpose:

  • To provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on onchocerciasis.
  • To highlight advancements in parasitological, clinical, epidemiological, and diagnostic aspects of the disease.
  • To inform the development of new control strategies, particularly in regions previously unaddressed by large-scale programs.

Summary:

  • Significant progress has been made in understanding Onchocerca volvulus population dynamics and the pathogenesis of cutaneous and ocular onchocerciasis.
  • Epidemiological studies are expanding to assess systemic manifestations, while new diagnostic tools offer improved sensitivity over traditional methods.
  • Novel diagnostic approaches, including DNA probes and rapid assessment methods, enhance parasite identification and mapping of endemic areas.

Impact:

  • Improved diagnostic sensitivity aids in more accurate detection and monitoring of onchocerciasis.
  • Enhanced understanding of disease pathogenesis informs clinical management and potentially preventative measures.
  • New tools for quantifying disability allow for better assessment of the socio-economic burden of onchocerciasis complications.

More Related Videos

Superior Auto-Identification of Trypanosome Parasites by Using a Hybrid Deep-Learning Model08:20

Superior Auto-Identification of Trypanosome Parasites by Using a Hybrid Deep-Learning Model

Published on: October 27, 2023

Ookluc: A Plasmodium berghei Line for Identifying Transmission-blocking Compounds07:14

Ookluc: A Plasmodium berghei Line for Identifying Transmission-blocking Compounds

Published on: July 11, 2025

Related Concept Videos

Symbiosis00:58

Symbiosis

Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
Leishmaniasis01:30

Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a protozoal disease caused by species of the genus Leishmania and transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies. The parasite exists in two principal morphological forms during its life cycle. A sandfly acquires intracellular amastigotes from an infected reservoir host, such as a dog. Within the sandfly, these forms differentiate into motile, flagellated promastigotes. During a subsequent blood meal, promastigotes are injected into the human host, where they...
Malaria01:29

Malaria

Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
Toxoplasmosis01:28

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
American Trypanosomiasis01:22

American Trypanosomiasis

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...
Amebiasis01:28

Amebiasis

Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite, is responsible for intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. Though a significant proportion of infections remain asymptomatic, approximately 50 million individuals annually are estimated to present with clinical disease, resulting in up to 100,000 deaths globally. The disease burden is disproportionately high in regions with lower socioeconomic status, such as parts of India, Africa, Mexico, and Latin America.Etiology and TransmissionThe infective...