What is "onchocerciasis"

onchocerciasis \onchocerciasis\ n. (Med.) An infection with nematodes of the genus Onchocerca, especially Onchocerca volvulus. Untreated, such infections can cause serious dermatological problems, and in advanced cases may lead to blindness. In certain areas of tropical Africa the blindness caused by onchocerciasis is called river blindness.

n. (context medicine English) A disease caused by a worm of the genus (taxlink Onchocerca genus noshow=1), especially as transmitted to humans by flies and often causing blindness; common in tropical Africa.

n. infestation with slender threadlike roundworms (filaria) deposited under the skin by the bite of black fleas; when the eyes are involved it can result in blindness; common in Africa and tropical America [syn: river blindness]

Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness and Robles disease, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second most common cause of blindness due to infection, after trachoma.

The parasite worm is spread by the bites of a black fly of the Simulium type. Usually many bites are required before infection occurs. These flies live near rivers, hence the name of the disease. Once inside a person, the worms create larvae that make their way out to the skin. Here they can infect the next black fly that bites the person. There are a number of ways to make the diagnosis including: placing a biopsy of the skin in normal saline and watching for the larva to come out, looking in the eye for larvae, and looking within the bumps under the skin for adult worms.

A vaccine against the disease does not exist. Prevention is by avoiding being bitten by flies. This may include the use of insect repellent and proper clothing. Other efforts include those to decrease the fly population by spraying insecticides. Efforts to eradicate the disease by treating entire groups of people twice a year is ongoing in a number of areas of the world. Treatment of those infected is with the medication ivermectin every six to twelve months. This treatment kills the larva but not the adult worms. The medication doxycycline, which kills an associated bacterium called Wolbachia, appears to weaken the worms and is recommended by some as well. Removal of the lumps under the skin by surgery may also be done.

About 17 to 25 million people are infected with river blindness, with approximately 0.8 million having some amount of loss of vision. Most infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa, although cases have also been reported in Yemen and isolated areas of Central and South America. In 1915, the physician Rodolfo Robles first linked the worm to eye disease. It is listed by the World Health Organization as a neglected tropical disease.