Onchocerciasis in the Americas: from arrival to (near) elimination

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Mauricio Sauerbrey³  Adrian Hopkins¹  Ken Gustavsen² 

[1]MECTIZAN Donation Program. 325 Swanton Way, Decatur, Georgia, 30030, USA

[2]Corporate Responsibility, Merck. 1 Merck Drive, WS2A-56, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, 08889, USA

[3]Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas. 14 Calle 3-51, Zona 10, Edificio Murano Center, Oficina 1401, Guatemala City, 01010, Guatemala

关键词: disease elimination;    ivermectin;    parasites;    Latin America;    neglected tropical diseases;    river blindness;    onchocerciasis;   

Others  :  1235327
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-3305-4-205

 received in 2011-10-05, accepted in 2011-10-25,  发布年份 2011

【 摘 要 】

Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a blinding parasitic disease that threatens the health of approximately 120 million people worldwide. While 99% of the population at-risk for infection from onchocerciasis live in Africa, some 500,000 people in the Americas are also threatened by infection. A relatively recent arrival to the western hemisphere, onchocerciasis was brought to the New World through the slave trade and spread through migration. The centuries since its arrival have seen advances in diagnosing, mapping and treating the disease. Once endemic to six countries in the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela), onchocerciasis is on track for interruption of transmission in the Americas by 2012, in line with Pan American Health Organization resolution CD48.R12. The success of this public health program is due to a robust public-private partnership involving national governments, local communities, donor organizations, intergovernmental bodies, academic institutions, non-profit organizations and the pharmaceutical industry. The lessons learned through the efforts in the Americas are in turn informing the program to control and eliminate onchocerciasis in Africa. However, continued support and investment are needed for program implementation and post-treatment surveillance to protect the gains to-date and ensure complete elimination is achieved and treatment can be safely stopped within all 13 regional foci.

【 授权许可】

   
2011 Gustavsen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

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