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Ashley Willmann
Onchocerciasis (River Blindness)
Onchocerciasis is also known as “river blindness”. It is an insect-borne disease
caused by a the parasite Onchocerca volvulus. It is transmitted from person to
person by the bite of a blackfly. This disease gets the river blindness because the
blackflies are most prevalent near flowing rivers particularly in remote African
rural areas. It is the leading cause for blindness in many African countries.
Effects: After a person is bitten with an infected blackfly, parasitic worms or
microfilaria develop in the body and spread throughout. When they die off they
cause the immune system to react. This reaction destroys tissue. Infected
persons can have a variety of symptoms including: skin rash, eye lesions, and/or
subcutaneous bumps under the skin. The ocular tissues can be involved if these
these microfilaria migrate and are evident early in the disease by direct invasion
from the conjunctiva, through the sclera or through the cornea. This ocular
intrusion often leads to bleeding, inflammation and ultimately blindness if left
untreated.
Treatments: Currently the drug of choice for treating
Onchocerciasis is Ivermectin. It is not difficult to
obtain and has few side effects. While it does not kill
the adult worms it does prevent the microfilaria from
reaching adulthood and reproducing. In order for
Ivermectin to be effective it must be given in a yearly
dose, and if the treatment continues until the adult
worms die then the patient is considered cured. There
is currently no vaccine to prevent Onchocerciasis, but it
is recommended to where long pants and long sleeve
shirts as well as using the insecticide, such as DEET, to
ward off any potentially infected blackflys.
**Ochocerciasis is a progressive disease of that could potentially lead to
blindness if left untreated.
Sources
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onchocerciasis
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article
http://www.who.int/blindness/causes/priority
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/onchocerciasis
http://human-infections.suite101.com/article.cfm/treatingriverblindness