WHO: Niger first African country to eliminate river blindness
Key takeaways:
- Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is spread by infected blackflies in rural areas along rivers and lakes.
- Niger is the first African country and fifth worldwide to eliminate the parasitic infection.
Niger became the first African country to eliminate the parasitic infection onchocerciasis — also known as river blindness — and the fifth worldwide, according to WHO.
The declaration came after a decades-long effort that included vector control and mass drug administration to affected communities reduced the prevalence of the infection to nearly zero.
“Onchocerciasis has long caused immense human suffering,” Matshidiso Moeti, MD, MPH, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, said in a press release. “It has also impeded the economic development of affected communities, driving people away from rivers, which are often lifelines for livelihoods.”
Onchocerciasis is caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a parasitic worm that can cause intense itching, rashes, lumps under the skin and vision loss, according to the CDC. There is no vaccine or drug to prevent onchocerciasis, which is the second leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, according to WHO.
The parasite, which WHO said earned its nickname because the people most likely to be affected by it live or work near streams and rivers, is spread by repeated bites from infected black flies. For the most part, according to the CDC, the parasite is found in rural sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Brazil, Venezuela and Yemen.
Eliminating transmission of onchocerciasis can require at least 10 to 15 years of medical treatment for areas where the infection is endemic, the agencies said, in addition to vector control.
Niger conducted intensive insecticide campaigns from 1976 through 1989, and then, starting in 2008, spent 12 years administering ivermectin and albendazole to areas endemic with onchocerciasis, as well as lymphatic filariasis, WHO said.
Onchocerciasis transmission was halted in 2014, and in the years following, the prevalence of the infection dropped from 60% to 0.02%, according to WHO.
WHO has also verified Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico as eliminating the infection. Additionally, Senegal in 2022 stopped treatment and is now under post-treatment surveillance, while Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Venezuela have started to pull back on mass treatment.
“Niger’s success ends this burden for its people,” Moeti said. “It also positions Niger as a model for the elimination of neglected tropic diseases in Africa. The country previously demonstrated its leadership in public health by eliminating Guinea-worm disease in 2013.”
References:
- CDC. Filarial worms: About onchocerciasis. https://www.cdc.gov/filarial-worms/about/onchocerciasis.html. Updated May, 14, 2024. Accessed Feb. 4, 2025.
- WHO. Onchocerciasis. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/onchocerciasis. Updated Jan. 29, 2025. Accessed Feb. 4, 2025.
- WHO verified Niger as the first country in the African Region to eliminate onchocerciasis. https://www.who.int/news/item/30-01-2025-who-verifies-niger-as-the-first-country-in-the-african-region-to-eliminate-onchocerciasis. Published Jan. 30, 2025. Accessed Feb. 4, 2025.
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