ONCHOCERCIASIS IN TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA

Morrone A., Terranova M., Padovese V.

21° WORLD CONGRESS OF DERMATOLOGY
Buenos Aires, September 30 – October 5 2007

Background
Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness, is an important cause of dermatitis and visual impairment, affecting about 18 million of people in Africa and Latin America, for a total of 37 endemic countries. It is caused by the filarial nematode, Onchocerca volvulus, which is transmitted by the bite of a black fly of the genus Simulium, near freely flowing waterways.
Patients and Methods
We report 8 patients observed in the Italian Dermatological Centre (IDC) in Mekele, Ethiopia, between March and September 2006. All patients presented long history of spread itching and chronic dermatitis especially on the buttocks and lower limbs. Skin snips of the lesions showed presences of microfilariae.
Results
Eight diagnosis of onchocerciasis were done and treatment with diethyl¬carbamazine PO was performed.
Conclusions
Ethiopia is considered an endemic area for onchocerciasis, but all the literature regards the western and southwestern regions of this country. We report cases observed in Tigray, a region of about Km2 54.500 for more than 4 million of inhabitants, where there are no information regarding the presence of this infection and where is not yet available ivermectin, the first line treatment for onchocerciasis.
References
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