What is onchocemerciasis?
Nematodes, also known as round worms, are parasites known to cause infection around the world. One example of a round worm is onchocerca Volvulus (O. Volvulus), which is the cause of onchocerciasis in humans. Onchocericiasis, also referred to as river blindness, is an infection transmitted by female Simulian Blackflies.
These female blackflies usually bite during the day and usually find breeding along flowing streams and rivers. Persons of any age and gender near these areas increase the risk of disease. Onchocerciasis infection is commonly observed in Africa, Yemen, Venezuela and Brazil.
The disease cannot be transmitted from man to humans. Female Blackflies are mostly a vehicle for spreading onchocerciasis. When infecting blackflies, bite into the skin transmits infectious larvae or immature parasites into the blood. These parasites then migrate into the tissues under the skin and create hard lumps or nodes like onipomal ripe. It takes about six months to a year for O. VolvoThe lus becomes an adult worm.
Adult men and female worms who can live inside the host for about 15 years, then join and release thousands of young parasites called microfilaria, to nearby tissues. These microfilaria are able to move on the body for one to two years. Most of them migrate into the skin and some of them. When they die, they cause certain reactions inside the body, and they usually manifest themselves as symptoms of onchocericias.
onchocericiasis symptoms usually occur several months after bitting. These include rashes, swelling and itching in scattered areas of the skin, hyperpigmentation or darkening of the skin areas, the presence of hard lumps or nodes and loss of elasticity in the skin. Infected individuals can also present dark skin patches at the bottom of the legs resemble leopard. Mikrofilaria die in the eye often causes reactions to develop eye inflammations. If it's hard, it canWhen lead to blindness, hence the term river blindness.
When one or several female blackflies bites into the skin of infected individuals, the microfilariae is infected. Inside the female blackflies, these microfilariae then undergo growth stadiums until they become infectious larvae in about three weeks. As Blackflies bite into humans during this time, then transfers the parasite to the skin, completing the life cycle of O. Volvulus.
diagnosis onchocericiasis can be performed by testing the blood of infected individuals or by removing tissues for examination. The treatment of onchocericiasis is often the responsibility of specialists in infectious diseases, ophthalmologists and dermatologists. Ophthalmologists are doctors who treat eye problems, and dermatologists deal with the skin of Disorders. Medicines that can kill microfilariae are often administered to stop progress of symptoms.