Sightsavers Reports

After 70 years of fighting an age-old scourge, onchocerciasis in Uganda, the end is in sight

The efforts against onchocerciasis in Uganda commenced in the late 1940s, when vector control was launched using dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. By 1973, the blackfly vector, Simulium damnosum, had been eliminated from one of the 17 transmission foci. Following a period of political instability, annual treatment with ivermectin through mass drug administration was launched in the early 1990s. In 2007 Uganda launched a nationwide transmission elimination policy based on twice-per-year treatment and vector control/elimination, with a goal of eliminating river blindness nationwide by 2020. By 2017, six foci had been freed from river blindness. This is the largest population ever declared free under World Health Organization elimination guidelines, providing evidence that elimination of river blindness in Africa is possible.

A close-up of man's hands examining grass for black flies which spread river blindness.
Type
Journal Title
Theme
NTD
Date published
11/09/2019
Journal
Oxford University Press
Language
English
Relevant links
Read the full study on PubMed
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