Low prevalence of epilepsy and onchocerciasis after more than 20 years of ivermectin treatment in the Imo River Basin in Nigeria.
Joseph Nelson Fodjo SieweChinyere N UkagaErnest O NwazorMurphy O NwokeModebelu C NwokejiBlessing C OnuohaSimon O NwanjorJoel OkekeKate OsahorLilian ChimechefulamAnn I OgomakaAugustine A AmaechiChika I EzenwaMonika N EzikeChidimma IkpeamaOgechi NwachukwuAustine I Eriama-JosephBerthram E B NwokeRobert ColebundersPublished in: Infectious diseases of poverty (2019)
A low epilepsy and onchocerciasis prevalence was observed following more than 20 years of CDTI in the Imo River Basin. Absence of Ov16 antibodies indicates minimal transmission of onchocerciasis. These results contrast with observations from areas of high onchocerciasis transmission, where epilepsy prevalence and incidence remain high. Findings from this study suggest that sustained efforts could eventually achieve elimination of onchocerciasis in these villages.