Why in news?
Niger has become the first African country verified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as free of onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, marking a major milestone in global efforts against neglected tropical diseases.​
About
- Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a parasitic disease caused by the worm Onchocerca volvulus.
- Transmitted to humans through repeated bites of infected female blackflies,(genus Simulium), which breed in fast‑flowing rivers and streams.​
- Not spread directly from person to person; the blackfly is essential for transmission.​
- Endemic mainly in rural areas of sub‑Saharan Africa, with smaller foci in Latin America and Yemen.​
- One of the leading infectious causes of blindness worldwide, after trachoma.​
- Intense itching, rashes, thickening, depigmentation (“leopard skin”), eye inflammation, visual impairment, and progressive damage lead to permanent blindness (hence “river blindness”).​
- Symptoms are mainly due to inflammatory reactions against dying microfilariae (larval worms) in skin and eye tissues and causes chronic disability
Diagnosis and treatment
- Diagnosis is usually by finding microfilariae in skin snips, eye examination, or detection of nodules; rapid tests and serology may support diagnosis.​
- Main treatment is ivermectin (periodic mass drug administration) which clears microfilariae and reduces transmission, though it does not reliably kill adult worms.​
Prevention and control
- Community‑directed mass drug administration with ivermectin in endemic areas is the cornerstone of control and elimination programmes.​
- Vector control (reducing blackfly populations near rivers) and sustained surveillance are used in some regions to support elimination efforts.​
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