Sightsavers Logo
Research centre
  • Home
  • About us
  • Research approach
  • Research studies and publications
  • Evidence gap maps
Join in:
  • Join in: Facebook
  • Join in: Twitter
  • Join in: Instagram
  • Join in: LinkedIn
  • Join in: YouTube
  • Global
  • Close search bar
    Donate
    • Home
    • About us
    • Research approach
    • Research studies and publications
    • Evidence gap maps
    Publication

    What does the COVID-19 pandemic mean for the next decade of onchocerciasis control and elimination?

    Journal: Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

    Summary

    The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the disruption of mass drug administration (MDA) programmes for onchocerciasis. This research paper uses mathematical modelling to predict how missed or delayed MDA programmes will affect short-term epidemiological trends and elimination prospects for onchocerciasis by 2030.

    The results show that biannual MDA is more effective than increasing coverage when it comes to mitigating the impacts of COVID-19. Countries and programmes with shorter (annual MDA) treatment histories should be prioritised for remedial biannual MDA.

    Increases in microfilarial load could have short and long-term repercussions on morbidity and mortality. Particularly in high-transmission settings with short treatment history, a two-year interruption could lead to increased microfilarial load in children and adults. These results can guide decision-making to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on onchocerciasis elimination.

    Read the journal article

    Related tags

    Onchocerciasis
    Publication details
    Date published
    29 January 2021
    Type
    Original research
    Journal
    Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
    Themes/conditions
    Onchocerciasis
    Publication details
    Date published
    29 January 2021
    Type
    Original research
    Journal
    Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
    Themes/conditions
    Onchocerciasis

    Related publications

    Publication

    Persistent transmission of onchocerciasis in Kwanware-Ottou focus in Wenchi health district, Ghana

    Publication

    Progress towards elimination of onchocerciasis transmission in Mali: a “pre-stop MDA” survey in 18 transmission zones

    Publication

    Ivermectin and doxycycline treatments against onchocerciasis: adaptations and impact among semi-nomadic population in Massangam health district, Cameroon

    Sightsavers Logo
    Research centre
    • Join in:
    • Join in: Facebook
    • Join in: X
    • Join in: Instagram
    • Join in: LinkedIn
    • Join in: YouTube

    Protecting sight, fighting disease and promoting equality for all

  • Accessibility
  • Sightsavers homepage
  • Our policies
  • Media centre
  • Contact us
  • Jobs
  • Cookies and privacy Terms and conditions Modern slavery statement Safeguarding

    © 2025 by Sightsavers, Inc., Business Address for all correspondence: One Boston Place, Suite 2600, Boston, MA 02108.

    Our website uses cookies

    To make sure you have a great experience on our site, we’d like your consent to use cookies. These will collect anonymous statistics to personalise your experience.

    Manage preferences

    You have the option to enable non-essential cookies, which will help us enhance your experience and improve our website.

    Essential cookiesAlways on

    These enable our site to work correctly, for example by storing page settings. You can disable these by changing your browser settings, but some parts of our website will not work as expected.

    Analytics cookies

    To improve our website, we’d like to collect anonymous data about how you use the site, such as which pages you read, the device you’re using, and whether your visit includes a donation. This is completely anonymous, and is never used to profile individual visitors.

    Advertising cookies

    To raise awareness about our work, we’d like to show you Sightsavers adverts as you browse the web. By accepting these cookies, our advertising partners may use anonymous information to show you our adverts on other websites you visit. If you do not enable advertising cookies, you will still see adverts on other websites, but they may be less relevant to you. For info, see the Google Ads privacy policy.