Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41714664›Full record

ArticleScientific data2026

HISTONCHO: A dataset of intervention histories for onchocerciasis control & elimination in sub-Saharan Africa.

Matthew A Dixon, Martin Walker, Aditya Ramani, Jenna E Coalson, Emily Griswold, Gregory S Noland, Andrew Tate, Emeka Makata, Ahmed M A Ali, Jorge Cano and 5 more

Abstract readDataset
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific data, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Matthew A DixonMRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, and London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 90 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK. m.dixon15@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-1710-6237
Martin WalkerMRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, and London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 90 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8714-5365
Aditya RamaniDepartment of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7TA, UK.ORCID 0009-0006-2120-4629
Jenna E CoalsonThe Carter Center, One Copenhill, 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307-1406, USA.
Emily GriswoldThe Carter Center, One Copenhill, 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307-1406, USA.
Gregory S NolandThe Carter Center, One Copenhill, 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307-1406, USA.
Andrew TateSightsavers, 35 Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 3BW, UK.
Emeka MakataFederal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Shehu Shagari Way, Central Business District, FCT, Abuja, Nigeria.
Ahmed M A AliRepublic of the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 303, Khartoum, Sudan.
Jorge CanoExpanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Paul BessellEpi Interventions Ltd, White Lodge Pencaitland, Tranent, EH34 5BQ, UK.
Claudio FronterrèCentre for Health Informatics, Computing and Statistics (CHICAS), Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YW, UK.
Raiha BrowningDepartment of Statistics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
Wilma A StolkDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Maria-Gloria BasáñezMRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, and London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 90 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK. m.basanez@imperial.ac.uk.

Funding

Gates Foundation INV-030046RCUK | Medical Research Council (MRC) MR/X020258/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), onchocerciasis control has been implemented for many decades, beginning in 1974 under the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa (OCP) and in 1995 in Central and East Africa (plus Liberia) under the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC). Since the establishment of the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) in 2016, data on mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin has been centrally compiled for all endemic countries at implementation unit (IU) level, beginning in 2013. This paper presents HISTONCHO, a dataset collating detailed information on interventions, including vector control, from 1975 through to 2022, using the ESPEN portal (2013-2022), regional and country reports, implementation partners' records, and published literature. Reconstructing such intervention histories is crucial for an understanding of their evolution, modelling their impact, and tailoring future interventions. We discuss strengths and limitations associated with the ESPEN database, and how HISTONCHO can be improved to support modelling of intervention strategies as well as onchocerciasis control and elimination efforts by endemic country programmes.

Indexed as

OnchocerciasisAfrica South of the SaharaAnimalsHumansIvermectinMass Drug AdministrationIvermectin

Identifiers

PMID41714664
PMCPMC13031844

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Registered trials

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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.