Another installment from our Worm of the Week series, courtesy of student campaigners from Boston University! Today we feature:
Onchocerciasis
Onchocerca Volvulus
Onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis is caused by the filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus. Transmission is via 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, a female can lay up to 1000 microfilariae/day, which move through the body, and when they die they cause a variety of conditions, including blindness, skin rashes, lesions, intense itching and skin depigmentation. A total of 18 million people are infected with the disease and have dermal microfilariae, of whom 99% are in Africa.
» Read more: Worm of the Week — Onchocerciasis
