ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2021
The burden of skin disease and eye disease due to onchocerciasis in countries formerly under the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control mandate for 1990, 2020, and 2030.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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16 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Defining onchocerciasis transmission zones: integrating operational insights with genomic and ecological advances.International health · 2026Review
- Modelling of onchocerciasis-associated skin and ocular disease and the impact of ivermectin treatment.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- The impact of the termination of Lymphatic Filariasis mass drug administration on Soil-transmitted Helminth prevalence in school children in Malawi.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Integrated strategies for controlling and eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of approaches, challenges, and opportunities.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2026Review
- Onchocerciasis overview: pathogenesis, clinical spectrum, and therapeutic challenges of a neglected tropical disease.Frontiers in parasitology · 2026Review
- Vaccination against Onchocerca volvulus induces IgG-mediated protective immunity dependent on neutrophils and complement.NPJ vaccines · 2025Article
- Epidemiological assessment of onchocerciasis in previously unmapped villages for ivermectin distribution in Fer-Fer District, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Association of haemato-biochemical indices and blood composite ratios with microfilaridermia in Onchocerciasis patients.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Impact assessment of onchocerciasis through lymphatic filariasis transmission assessment surveys using Ov-16 rapid diagnostic tests in Sierra Leone.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Integration of onchocerciasis morbidity management and disability prevention services in the healthcare system in Tanzania: a call for action and recommendations.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 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
- Article
- Onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy in Maridi, South Sudan: Modelling and exploring the impact of control measures against river blindness.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Mapping the Burden of Visual Impairment Due to Onchocerciasis Infection in Central Africa from 1990 to 2019.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Article
- Immunoinformatics Design and Assessment of a Multiepitope Antigen (OvMCBL02) for Onchocerciasis Diagnosis and Monitoring.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Health-related quality of life and associated factors among Onchocerciasis patients in southeast Nigeria: A cross-sectional comparative study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
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8 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOnchocerciasis ("river blindness") can cause severe morbidity, including vision loss and various skin manifestations, and is targeted for elimination using ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA). We calculated the number of people with Onchocerca volvulus infection and onchocercal skin and eye disease as well as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost from 1990 through to 2030 in areas formerly covered by the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control.
methodsPer MDA implementation unit, we collated data on the pre-control distribution of microfilariae (mf) prevalence and the history of control. Next, we predicted trends in infection and morbidity over time using the ONCHOSIM simulation model. DALY estimates were calculated using disability weights from the Global Burden of Disease Study.
resultsIn 1990, prior to MDA implementation, the total population at risk was 79.8 million with 26.0 million (32.5%) mf-positive individuals, of whom 17.5 million (21.9%) had some form of onchocercal skin or eye disease (2.5 million DALYs lost). By 2030, the total population was predicted to increase to 236.1 million, while the number of mf-positive cases (about 6.8 million, 2.9%), people with skin or eye morbidity (4.2 million, 1.8%), and DALYs lost (0.7 million) were predicted to decline.
conclusionsMDA has had a remarkable impact on the onchocerciasis burden in countries previously under the APOC mandate. In the few countries where we predict continued transmission between now and 2030, intensified MDA could be combined with local vector control efforts, or the introduction of new drugs for mopping up residual cases of infection and morbidity.
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