New Strategy for Onchocerciasis: A Test-and-Not-Treat Approach

Identification and exclusion of persons with high levels of circulating Loa loa microfilariae enabled safe implementation of ivermectin community treatment for onchocerciasis.

Community-wide distribution of ivermectin has been a key part of the strategy to eliminate onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis but has been halted in some areas because of fatal events related to coincidental high-density Loa loa infections. Investigators now report results using LoaScope, a mobile-telephone-based videomicroscope to quantify L. loa microfilariae in the peripheral blood, allowing investigators to exclude individuals with high-density L. loa infections from treatment.

In 92 villages in Okola district, Cameroon, investigators screened >16,000 individuals aged 5 years and older using the LoaScope and treated >95% with ivermectin. Overall, 2.1% were excluded because of high microfilarial density and 2.4% because of pregnancy …

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

New Strategy for Onchocerciasis: A Test-and-Not-Treat Approach

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Reviewing Author