ONCHOCERCIASIS IN TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA

Padovese V., Terranova M., Calcaterra R., Franco G., Morrone A.

17th CONGRESS OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY AND VENEREOLOGY
Paris, 17-21 September 2008

FP0526 ONCHOCERCIASIS IN TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA
V. Padovese1, M. Terranova1, R. Calcaterra2, G. Franco3, A. Morrone4 1Italian Dermatological Centre, IDC, Mekele, Ethiopia, 2Department of Research, National Institute for health, migration and poverty, 3Department of Preventive Medicine for Migration, Tourism and Tropical Dermatology, San Gallicano Institute, 4Director General, National Institute for health, migration and poverty, Rome, Italy

Background. Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness, is a parasitic infection afflicting 18 million people worldwide. The causative organism, Onchocerca volvulus, is a filarial nematode transmitted by infested black flies of the genus Simulium, which are found near freely flowing waterways. Simulium kaffaense has been identified as the vector in Ethiopia and East Africa.
Methods. We analyzed the cases of onchocerciasis observed at the Italian Dermatological Centre (IDC) in Mekele, capital of Tigray, the northern region of Ethiopia, between January and December 2007.
Results. Fifhteen patients (six females and nine males) with onchocerciasis were seen at IDC. All patients were from the Tigray region. In all cases, there was a long history of diffuse itching and chronic dermatitis, particularly involving the buttocks and lower limbs.
Conclusions. Onchocerciasis represents a major public health problem in the tropical and subtropical regions of 37 endemic countries. Onchocerciasis, and other neglected diseases affect inhabitants of developing countries who are too poor to pay for treatment. Ethiopia is one of the countries involved in the African Programme for
Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) but the literature concerning onchocerciasis relates to the north-western and south-western regions of the country. The filaricidal drug ivermectin, recognized as a mainstray of treatment for onchocerciais, and utilized in mass distribution by APOC, is not available in the capital of the northern region of Tigray.
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