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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 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 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