Prevalence, intensity and ocular manifestations of Onchocerca volvulus infection in Dimbelenge, Zaire.

In the zone of Dimbelenge (West Kasai region), Zaire we studied the prevalence, intensity and ocular manifestations of Onchocerca volvulus infection. We used the cluster sampling method to draw a sample of 327 people from a total population of 17,870. The prevalence of microfilaria in skin snips was 82.1% in people 20 years of age and older. The Community Microfilarial Load was 3.5. Blindness in 12 of 13 adults (92.3%) was caused by onchocerciasis. The rate of onchocercal blindness in the adult population was 5.1%. Twenty-four percent of adults had retinal changes as a result of onchocercal infection.