Onchocerciasis News and Research

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Onchocerciasis is a parasitic disease caused by the filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus. It is transmitted through the bites of infected blackflies of Simulium species, which carry immature larval forms of the parasite from human to human. In the human body, the larvae form nodules in the subcutaneous tissue, where they mature to adult worms. After mating, the female adult worm can release up to 1000 microfilariae a day. These move through the body, and when they die they cause a variety of conditions, including blindness, skin rashes, lesions, intense itching and skin depigmentation. Onchocerciasis is endemic in more than 25 nations located in a broad band across the central part of Africa. Small endemic foci are also present in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) and in the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, southern Mexico, and Venezuela).

Researchers identify traditional Ghanaian medicines to eradicate neglected tropical diseases

The discovery of new drugs is vital to achieving the eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Africa and around the world.

4 Jan 2021

World Health Organization, Sanofi sign new agreement to eliminate neglected tropical diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Sanofi – one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies – have signed a new agreement for donations of medicines to sustain specific efforts to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

15 Dec 2020

Study reveals onchocerciasis can be eliminated by adapting new measures and tools

A report on onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) shows continued global progress towards achieving interruption of transmission of the disease.

15 Dec 2020

Illustrations by Nigerian artist kickstart debate on neglected tropical disease

Illustrations by a local artist in Nigeria are helping health workers and policy makers understand what it's really like to live with a neglected tropical disease (NTD).

5 Nov 2020

Researchers receive $5 million to study two types of parasitic infection

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received two grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling more than $5 million to study two types of parasitic worm infection that cause devastating illness in millions of people worldwide.

21 May 2020

Scientists create new models of tropical eye worm for development of anti-filarial drugs

Researchers at the LSTM's Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics, and University of Buea, Cameroon have developed new models of the tropical eye worm, Loa loa for the development of new drugs against filariasis.

30 Mar 2019

New anti-Wolbachia drug could potentially treat onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis

Researchers from LSTM and the University of Liverpool have successfully optimized a hit from a whole cell screening of a 10000-compound library to deliver the first novel fully synthetic and rationally designed anti-Wolbachia drug, AWZ1066S, which could potentially be used to treat onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis.

8 Jan 2019

LSTM led partnership receives funding to develop drug for treating two neglected tropical diseases

An LSTM led partnership has been awarded nearly £1.5 million from the Medical Research Council for the pre-clinical development of a candidate drug to treat onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis, by targeting the bacterial symbiont Wolbachia.

14 Sep 2018

Scientists develop urine diagnostic to detect parasitic worms that cause river blindness

Scientists at Scripps Research have developed a urine diagnostic to detect the parasitic worms that cause river blindness, also called onchocerciasis, a tropical disease that afflicts 18 to 120 million people worldwide.

28 Aug 2018

Researchers use smartphone to diagnose people infected with Loa loa worm

The Berkeley researchers figured out that they could quickly determine who has the Loa loa worm using a smartphone, customized to work like a microscope. They could then skip the medication for those people and give it to everyone else. Kamgno, who received the latest version of the phones in 2016, dubbed the mobile microscopes "revolutionary."

19 Apr 2018

Neglected tropical diseases to be tackled in Africa’s poorest communities

World Health Organization and Uniting to Combat NTDs collaborate to tackle the five most common Neglected tropical diseases; onchocerciasis, trachoma, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis and helminthic infections.

30 Jan 2018

LoaScope could be valuable approach in the fight against river blindness

River blindness, or onchocerciasis, is a disease caused by a parasitic worm found primarily in Africa. The worm (Onchocerca volvulus) is transmitted to humans as immature larvae through bites of infected black flies.

9 Nov 2017

LSTM researchers find new way to reduce treatment for some parasitic diseases

Researchers from LSTM's Research Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics have found a way of significantly reducing the treatment required for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis from several weeks to seven days. By targeting Wolbachia, a bacterial symbiont that the filarial parasites need to live, the team has discovered a drug synergy that enables effective treatment over a shorter time.

24 Oct 2017

WHO announces new flagship programs for African region over next two years

The World Health Organization’s Regional Director for Africa announced today four new flagship programs for the region over the next two years, including a major push on adolescent health and the creation of regional emergency hubs.

26 May 2017

WHO marching toward extraordinary progress against neglected tropical diseases, report reveals

Since 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been reporting outstanding success in dealing with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) with 1 billion people estimated to have received treatments in 2015.

19 Apr 2017

Vaxine’s unique adjuvants boost effectiveness of vaccines for battling against infectious diseases

SUGAR-based adjuvants from Australia are boosting the effectiveness of vaccines to target some of the world’s deadliest diseases.

7 Dec 2016

Researchers sequence genome of parasitic worm that causes river blindness

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the parasitic worm responsible for causing onchocerciasis--an eye and skin infection more commonly known as river blindness.

21 Nov 2016

Controlling corneal blindness by 2030: an interview with Dr Pravin Vaddavalli

Corneal blindness is estimated to be the second most prevalent cause of blindness in many less developed countries. Globally, bilateral corneal blindness is estimated to afflict 4.9 million persons and accounts for 12% of 39 million blind, utilizing WHO 2010 global blindness data.

13 Jun 2016

PATH and SD/Alere announce commercial availability of two diagnostic tools for NTDs

PATH and Standard Diagnostics/Alere announced today the commercial availability of two rapid diagnostic tools for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. Designed for use in disease surveillance, the antibody-based tests are part of a suite of diagnostic innovations intended to support the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of illnesses that affect more than a billion people worldwide.

12 Apr 2016

Researchers take major step towards developing vaccine for river blindness

The world's first vaccine for a disease that causes misery for millions in Africa could be tested within five years.

12 Jan 2016