ArticleParasites & vectors2026
Onchocerca volvulus infection prevalence and intensity in Logo and Nyarambe Health Zones in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2010 and in 2021-2023: results of screening for clinical trials of moxidectin versus ivermectin.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Declining Onchocerca volvulus transmission despite limited ivermectin delivery in the Kakoi-Koda focus, Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo: An epidemiological, entomological and landscape evidence synthesis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Reaching elimination of onchocerciasis transmission with long-term vector control and ivermectin treatment in Togo.Nature communications · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
26 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn Ituri Province, 7576 and 1056 volunteers living in Logo and Nyarambe Health Zone (HZ), respectively, were screened in 2021-2023 for two studies comparing moxidectin and ivermectin in individuals with ≥ 0 Onchocerca volvulus skin microfilariae density (SmfD, microfilariae/mg skin). Site selection was based on the trial capacity established for the moxidectin Phase 3 study and SmfD measured among 1373 and 36 individuals screened in HZ Logo and Nyarambe, respectively, in 2010. We compared the SmfD measured in 2010 and 2021-2023 in Logo HZ where ivermectin mass administration was never implemented and provide descriptive statistics for SmfD from Nyarambe HZ.
methodsFour skin snips from each consenting/assenting individual ≥ 12 years old were weighed and incubated in isotonic saline for ≥ 8 h. Emerged microfilariae were counted and SmfD calculated as the mean of the microfilariae/mg skin of each snip. Other data collected included age, gender, village of residence, and history of ivermectin treatment.
resultsIn 2010 and 2021-2023, respectively, adults (18-93 years old) represented 92.1% and 73.2%, and women 36.9% and 46.6% of the 1373 and 7547 volunteers from Logo HZ without reported prior ivermectin treatment. Among these adults and adolescents (12-17 years), no microfilariae were detected in snips from 23.3% and 26.9% in 2010 and 89.8% and 96.8% in 2021-2023, respectively, with mean ± standard deviation SmfD being 24.30 ± 35.52 and 11.8 ± 18.37 in 2010 and 1.1 ± 6.44 and 0.3 ± 2.62 in 2021-2023, respectively.
conclusionsGiven that the reduction in infection prevalence and intensity in Logo HZ cannot be attributed to ivermectin distribution, it has to be due to reduction in infective vector biting rates, possibly linked to a recently proposed change in vector species triggered by land-use changes. Because SmfD reflects transmission events approximately 2-15 years earlier, infective vector biting rate assessment is needed to determine current transmission rates. Reduced transmission shifts macrofilariae age distribution toward older macrofilariae with lower reproductive capacity. Comparison of the results from the Phase 3 and the ongoing efficacy study might help determine whether drug susceptibility changes significantly with macrofilariae age. Should that be the case, transmission models evaluating the impact of mass drug administrations could be adjusted.
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.