1/3. onchocerciasis (river blindness).A 37-year-old African man presented for excision of a dermal nodule after a diagnosis of ocular onchocerciasis (river blindness). A nodule from the patient's left buttock contained several adult filarial worms, and results from adjacent skin biopsy specimens revealed numerous dermal microfilariae. The patient was admitted to the hospital and treated with one dose of ivermectin. Recommendations were made for ivermectin treatments every 6 months for up to 10 years. The history, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of onchocerciasis are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = onchocerciasis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/3. Clinical and pathological features of chronic glaucoma in north-east ghana.Of 34 consecutive patients with chronic glaucoma seen in north-east ghana, 22 (65%) were male and seven (21%) were aged under 40 years. Only 17% of eyes had a visual acuity better than 6/18 at presentation. Sixteen of 23 patients who underwent gonioscopy had PAS of which 13 had positive skin snips for onchocerciasis, compared with two out of seven patients with positive skin snips who had open angle glaucoma (p = 0.003). Of 22 trabecular meshworks examined by light microscopy ten (45%) showed marked melanin pigmentation which was more common in younger patients but did not correlate with onchocerciasis infection.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = onchocerciasis (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/3. Socioeconomic consequences of blinding onchocerciasis in west africa.onchocerciasis or river blindness, a major cause of irreversible blindness among adults, has been the focus of international disease control efforts for over 20 years in West africa. This paper employs the international classification of impairment, disability and handicap (ICIDH) to interpret results from a field study to assess the socioeconomic consequences of onchocerciasis in guinea in 1987. In a sample of 136 blind, 94 visually impaired and 89 well-sighted persons, decreasing visual acuity is strongly associated with mobility, occupational and marital handicaps. Individual, household and disease correlates were explored. The implications of these findings for the ICIDH concept of handicap are discussed with particular emphasis on the need to extend analysis beyond the individual when assessing the socioeconomic consequences of disabling disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.5keywords = onchocerciasis (Clic here for more details about this article) |