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Konlan M, Abassawah Danquah B, Okyere E, Osman S, Amenyo Kessie J, Kobina Donkoh E. Global stability analysis and modelling onchocerciasis transmission dynamics with control measures. Infect Ecol Epidemiol 2024; 14:2347941. [PMID: 38736969 PMCID: PMC11086017 DOI: 10.1080/20008686.2024.2347941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Onchocerciasis infection is one of the neglected tropical diseases targeted for eradication by 2030. The disease is usually transmitted to humans through the bites of black flies. These black flies mostly breed near well-oxygenated fast-running water bodies. The disease is common in mostly remote agricultural villages near rivers and streams. Objective: In this study, a deterministic model describing the infection dynamics of human onchocerciasis disease with control measures is presented. Methods: We derived the model's reproductive number and used a stability theorem of a Metzler matrix to show that disease-free equilibrium is both locally and globally asymptotically stable whenever the reproductive number is less than one. Parameter contribution was conducted using sensitivity analysis. The model endemic equation is shown to be a cubic polynomial in the presence of infected immigrants and a quadratic form in their absence. Results: When the inflow of infected immigrants is null, the model endemic equation may admit a unique equilibrium if the reproductive number is greater than one, or admits multiple endemic equilibria if the reproductive number is less than unity. We carried out a sensitivity analysis to identify the significant parameters that contribute to onchocerciasis spread. Conclusion: Onchocerciasis disease can be eradicated if the importation of infected immigrants is properly monitored. The integration of the One Health concept in the public health system is key in tackling the emergence and spread of diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Musah Konlan
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana
| | - Baaba Abassawah Danquah
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana
| | - Eric Okyere
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana
| | - Shaibu Osman
- Department of Basic Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
| | - Justice Amenyo Kessie
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana
| | - Elvis Kobina Donkoh
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana
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Siewe Fodjo JN, Ngarka L, Njamnshi WY, Enyong PA, Zoung-Kanyi Bissek AC, Njamnshi AK. Onchocerciasis in the Ntui Health District of Cameroon: epidemiological, entomological and parasitological findings in relation to elimination prospects. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:444. [PMID: 36443885 PMCID: PMC9702945 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05585-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite decades of community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI), onchocerciasis transmission persists in Cameroon and has been associated with increased risk for epilepsy in endemic communities. We investigated the onchocerciasis situation in the Ntui Health District (a known onchocerciasis focus in Cameroon where the Sanaga River constitutes the main source of black fly vectors) using parasitological, entomological and serological parameters. METHODS In July 2021, community-based surveys were conducted in four villages (Essougli, Nachtigal, Ndjame and Ndowe). Onchocerciasis was diagnosed via microscopic examination of skin snips. Using rapid diagnostic tests, we screened children aged 3-6 years for Ov16 antibodies as a proxy for recent onchocerciasis transmission. Monthly black fly biting rates were obtained from the two riverside villages (Nachtigal and Essougli) for 12 consecutive months (July 2021 to June 2022) using the human landing catch technique. Some black flies were dissected each month to check for infection. RESULTS Overall, 460 participants were recruited; mean age was 32.1 (range: 3-85) years with 248 (53.9%) being males. Among skin snipped participants (n = 425), onchocerciasis prevalence was 14.6%. Participants with epilepsy (n = 25) were more often skin snip positive (45.8% vs 12.7%; P < 0.001) and had higher microfilarial loads (9.2 ± 22.0 vs 0.7 ± 3.5 microfilariae/skin snip; P < 0.001) compared to their peers without epilepsy. Eight (6.5%) of the 123 tested children were Ov16 seropositive. The breeding sites we investigated along the Sanaga River during the current study harbored fewer vectors (annual biting rates reaching 530,322 vs 606,370 in the Mbam River) and exhibited lower black fly infection rates (annual transmission potentials reaching 1479 vs 4488 in the Mbam River) when compared to recent entomological reports in Cameroon. CONCLUSION Despite substantial biting rates, black fly infection rates (by microscopy) in the Ntui Health District were rather low resulting in overall low transmission potentials in study villages. Thanks to CDTI, O. volvulus infection in both humans and insects is on the decrease. However, there is evidence that O. volvulus is still endemic in these communities. Reducing the vector population will further accelerate onchocerciasis elimination prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Nelson Siewe Fodjo
- Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.460723.40000 0004 0647 4688Neurology Department, Central Hospital Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Leonard Ngarka
- Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.460723.40000 0004 0647 4688Neurology Department, Central Hospital Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.412661.60000 0001 2173 8504Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Wepnyu Yembe Njamnshi
- Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.412661.60000 0001 2173 8504Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.415857.a0000 0001 0668 6654Ministry of Public Health, Division of Health Operations Research, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Peter Ayuk Enyong
- grid.29273.3d0000 0001 2288 3199Research Foundation in Tropical Diseases and Environment (REFOTDE), Buea, Cameroon
| | - Anne-Cécile Zoung-Kanyi Bissek
- Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.412661.60000 0001 2173 8504Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.415857.a0000 0001 0668 6654Ministry of Public Health, Division of Health Operations Research, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Alfred Kongnyu Njamnshi
- Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN), Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.460723.40000 0004 0647 4688Neurology Department, Central Hospital Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon ,grid.412661.60000 0001 2173 8504Neuroscience Lab, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
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Brattig NW, Cheke RA, Garms R. Onchocerciasis (river blindness) - more than a century of research and control. Acta Trop 2021; 218:105677. [PMID: 32857984 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2020.105677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
This review summarises more than a century of research on onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, and its control. River blindness is an infection caused by the tissue filaria Onchocerca volvulus affecting the skin, subcutaneous tissue and eyes and leading to blindness in a minority of infected persons. The parasite is transmitted by its intermediate hosts Simulium spp. which breed in rivers. Featured are history and milestones in onchocerciasis research and control, state-of-the-art data on the parasite, its endobacteria Wolbachia, on the vectors, previous and current prevalence of the infection, its diagnostics, the interaction between the parasite and its host, immune responses and the pathology of onchocerciasis. Detailed information is documented on the time course of control programmes in the afflicted countries in Africa and the Americas, a long road from previous programmes to current successes in control of the transmission of this infectious disease. By development, adjustment and optimization of the control measures, transmission by the vector has been interrupted in foci of countries in the Americas, in Uganda, in Sudan and elsewhere, followed by onchocerciasis eliminations. The current state and future perspectives for control, elimination and eradication within the next 20-30 years are described and discussed. This review contributes to a deeper comprehension of this disease by a tissue-dwelling filaria and it will be helpful in efforts to control and eliminate other filarial infections.
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