ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2012
Density-dependent mortality of the human host in onchocerciasis: relationships between microfilarial load and excess mortality.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and an individual patient data meta-analysis of ivermectin use in children weighing less than fifteen kilograms: Is it time to reconsider the current contraindication?PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of epilepsy prevalence in West Africa and its relationship with onchocerciasis endemicity and control.International health · 2020Pooled it
- Economic evaluations of onchocerciasis interventions: a systematic review and research needs.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2019Pooled it
- Modelling of onchocerciasis-associated skin and ocular disease and the impact of ivermectin treatment.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- HISTONCHO: A dataset of intervention histories for onchocerciasis control & elimination in sub-Saharan Africa.Scientific data · 2026Article
- Modelling the effects of immigration on the re-introduction of onchocerciasis.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Modelling transmission thresholds and hypoendemic stability for onchocerciasis elimination.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Model-Based Geostatistical Mapping of the Prevalence of Onchocerca volvulus in Cameroon between 1971 and 2020.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Modelling onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy and the impact of ivermectin treatment on its prevalence and incidence.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Modelling morbidity for neglected tropical diseases: the long and winding road from cumulative exposure to long-term pathology.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Review
- Bacteriome Diversity of Blackflies' Gut and Association withPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Unusual Localization of Blood-Borne Loa loa Microfilariae in the Skin Depends on Microfilarial Density in the Blood: Implications for Onchocerciasis Diagnosis in Coendemic Areas.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021Article
- How does onchocerciasis-related skin and eye disease in Africa depend on cumulative exposure to infection and mass treatment?PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Computational Design and Preliminary Serological Analysis of a Novel Multi-Epitope Vaccine Candidate against Onchocerciasis and Related Filarial Diseases.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Onchocerca volvulus and epilepsy: A comprehensive review using the Bradford Hill criteria for causation.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Review
- Estimating helminth burdens using sibship reconstruction.Parasites & vectors · 2019Article
- From river blindness to river epilepsy: Implications for onchocerciasis elimination programmes.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2019Article
- In-silico design of a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against onchocerciasis and related filarial diseases.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- The World Health Organization 2030 goals for onchocerciasis: Insights and perspectives from mathematical modelling: NTD Modelling Consortium Onchocerciasis Group.Gates open research · 2019Article
- Update on the current status of onchocerciasis in Côte d'Ivoire following 40 years of intervention: Progress and challenges.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe parasite Onchocerca volvulus has, until recently, been regarded as the cause of a chronic yet non-fatal condition. Recent analyses, however, have indicated that in addition to blindness, the parasite can also be directly associated with human mortality. Such analyses also suggested that the relationship between microfilarial load and excess mortality might be non-linear. Determining the functional form of such relationship would contribute to quantify the population impact of mass microfilaricidal treatment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsData from the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa (OCP) collected from 1974 through 2001 were used to determine functional relationships between microfilarial load and excess mortality of the human host. The goodness-of-fit of three candidate functional forms (a (log-) linear model and two saturating functions) were explored and a saturating (log-) sigmoid function was deemed to be statistically the best fit. The excess mortality associated with microfilarial load was also found to be greater in younger hosts. The attributable mortality risk due to onchocerciasis was estimated to be 5.9%. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Incorporation of this non-linear functional relationship between microfilarial load and excess mortality into mathematical models for the transmission and control of onchocerciasis will have important implications for our understanding of the population biology of O. volvulus, its impact on human populations, the global burden of disease due to onchocerciasis, and the projected benefits of control programmes in both human and economic terms.
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