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Progressive Vision Loss in a Man from Cameroon

2003; Oxford University Press; Volume: 37; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/378811

1537-6591

Mariel del Rio, Ila Bansal, Koichi Maeda, Barry Skarf, Indira Brar,

Mosquito-borne diseases and control

Diagnosis: Onchocerciasis (river blindness) and Mansonella species infection. Onchocerciasis, or blindness, is caused by the filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus. Onchocerciasis is a major cause of worldwide. 0. volvulus infects 20 million people in West, Central, and East Africa and 1 million people in Central and South America. The infection is characterized by itchy dermatitis, subcutaneous nodules, keratitis, and chorioretinitis [1]. Onchocerciasis is transmitted in rural areas by Simulium species blackflies that breed in rapidly flowing, well-oxygenated rivers and streams, and the high prevalence of infection in agrarian communities located near rivers has led to the common name for the disease, river blindness [2, 3]. Microfilariae present in the skin are ingested by the blackflies when they feed, and the microfilariae then develop into infective larvae. Transmission of larvae occurs when the fly takes its next blood meal.