| Title |
Elimination of onchocerciasis from Colombia: first proof of concept of river blindness elimination in the world
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Parasites & Vectors, April 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s13071-018-2821-9 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Rubén Santiago Nicholls, Sofía Duque, Luz Adriana Olaya, Myriam Consuelo López, Sol Beatriz Sánchez, Alba Lucía Morales, Gloria Inés Palma |
| Abstract |
Onchocerciasis is a chronic parasitic infection originally endemic in 13 discrete regional foci distributed among six countries of Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela). In Colombia, this disease was discovered in 1965 in the Pacific Coast of the country. The National Onchocerciasis Elimination Program was established in 1993 with the aim of eliminating disease morbidity and infection transmission. In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) verified Colombia as free of onchocerciasis, becoming the first country in the world to reach such a goal. This report provides the empirical evidence of the elimination of Onchocerca volvulus transmission by Simulium exiguum (s.l.) after 12 years of 6-monthly mass drug administration of Mectizan® (ivermectin) to all the eligible residents living in this endemic area. From 1996 onwards, a biannual community-based mass ivermectin administration programme was implemented, complemented by health education and community participation. In-depth parasitological, serological and entomological surveys were conducted periodically between 1998 and 2007 to evaluate the impact of ivermectin treatment according to the 2001 WHO guidelines. When the interruption of parasite transmission was demonstrated, the drug distribution ceased and a three-year post-treatment surveillance (PTS) period (2008-2010) was initiated. After 23 rounds of treatment, parasitological and ophthalmological assessments showed absence of microfilariae in skin and anterior chamber of the eyes. Serological tests proved lack of antibodies against O. volvulus in children under 10 years-old. A total of 10,500 S. exiguum flies tested by PCR had no L3 infection (infectivity rate = 0.0095%; 95% CI: 0.0029-0.049) during 2004, indicating interruption of parasite transmission. However, biannual ivermectin treatments continued until 2007 followed by a 3-year PTS period at the end of which 13,481 flies were analyzed and no infective flies were found (infectivity rate = 0%; 95% CI: 0.0-0.014). These results fulfilled the WHO criteria for onchocerciasis elimination. Consequently, in 2013 Colombia was verified as free of onchocerciasis, demonstrating that elimination of this neglected tropical disease is an achievable goal and paving the way for an elimination agenda to be followed by other endemic countries in Latin America and Africa. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 19 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 6 | 32% |
| United States | 4 | 21% |
| Colombia | 3 | 16% |
| Panama | 1 | 5% |
| Italy | 1 | 5% |
| Unknown | 4 | 21% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 13 | 68% |
| Scientists | 3 | 16% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 11% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 5% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 110 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 110 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 14 | 13% |
| Researcher | 12 | 11% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 10% |
| Other | 6 | 5% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 6 | 5% |
| Other | 22 | 20% |
| Unknown | 39 | 35% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 22 | 20% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 8 | 7% |
| Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 6 | 5% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 5 | 5% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 5 | 5% |
| Other | 25 | 23% |
| Unknown | 39 | 35% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 15. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 May 2023.
All research outputs
#2,417,310
of 24,943,708 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#450
of 5,870 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#49,676
of 334,689 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#17
of 180 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,943,708 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 90th percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,870 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.1. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 92% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 180 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its contemporaries.