ArticleParasites & vectors2014
The impact of Merowe Dam on Simulium hamedense vector of onchocerciasis in Abu Hamed focus - Northern Sudan.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors influencing vector control for onchocerciasis in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Public health impact of nuisance biting blackfly (Simulium damnosum s.l.) along the Asejire dam in Southwest, Nigeria.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Impact of seasonal changes on human onchocerciasis transmission and disease elimination.International health · 2026Review
- Changes in cytoforms of Simulium damnosum sensu lato (Diptera: Simuliidae) and onchocerciasis transmission zones in northern Cameroon with possible implications for onchocerciasis transmission elimination.Journal of medical entomology · 2025Article
- Infectious disease responses to human climate change adaptations.Global change biology · 2024Review
- Socioeconomic impacts of elimination of onchocerciasis in Abu-Hamed focus, northern Sudan: lessons after elimination.BMC research notes · 2020Article
- The Role of the Maridi Dam in Causing an Onchocerciasis-Associated Epilepsy Epidemic in Maridi, South Sudan: An Epidemiological, Sociological, and Entomological Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Notes on distribution of Simulium damnosum s. l. along Atbara River in Galabat sub-focus, eastern Sudan.BMC infectious diseases · 2019Article
- Research for new drugs for elimination of onchocerciasis in Africa.International journal for parasitology. Drugs and drug resistance · 2016Review
- Onchocerciasis Elimination from Africa: One Step in Northern Sudan.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2016Article
- The First Confirmed Elimination of an Onchocerciasis Focus in Africa: Abu Hamed, Sudan.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2016Article
- Seasonal Variation in Biting Rates of Simulium damnosum sensu lato, Vector of Onchocerca volvulus, in Two Sudanese Foci.PloS one · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAbu Hamed, the northernmost onchocerciasis focus in the world, is located along the River Nile banks in the Nubian Desert. Hydroelectric dams can alter activity of black flies and may provide breeding sites for black fly. Merowe Dam, the largest hydropower project in Africa, was built west of Abu Hamed focus in 2009. The impact of the Dam on onchocerciasis and its black fly vectors in Abu Hamed focus was measured in this study.
findingsEntomological surveys for aquatic stages and adult Simulium hamedense were conducted before and after the inception of Merowe Dam in 2007/2008 and 2010/2011. There was no black fly breeding or adult activity in the previously known breeding sites upstream of the Merowe Dam with the western most breeding site found in AlSarsaf village near the center of the focus. No adult or aquatic stages of black flies were found downstream of the Dam.
conclusionsThe artificial lake of the Dam flooded all the breeding sites in the western region of the focus and no aquatic stages and/or adult black fly activity were established in the study area upstream of the Dam. The Dam seems to have positive impact on onchocerciasis and its black fly vectors in Abu Hamed focus. These outcomes of the Merowe Dam might have contributed to the recently declared interruption of onchocerciasis transmission in Abu Hamed focus. Continuous entomological surveys are needed to monitor presence of black fly vectors and its impact on the disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.