02111nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001653002000042653001400062653001900076653003200095653001800127653001500145653002400160100001600184700001400200700001600214245007200230856008100302490000600383520147800389022001401867       2011                            d10aRiver blindness10aParasites10aonchocerciasis10aNeglected Tropical Diseases10aLatin America10aIvermectin10aDisease elimination1 aGustavsen K1 aHopkins A1 aSauerbrey M00aOnchocerciasis in the Americas: from arrival to (near) elimination.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3214172/pdf/1756-3305-4-205.pdf0 v43 a<p>Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a blinding parasitic disease that threatens the health of approximately 120 million people worldwide. While 99% of the population at-risk for infection from onchocerciasis live in Africa, some 500,000 people in the Americas are also threatened by infection. A relatively recent arrival to the western hemisphere, onchocerciasis was brought to the New World through the slave trade and spread through migration. The centuries since its arrival have seen advances in diagnosing, mapping and treating the disease. Once endemic to six countries in the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela), onchocerciasis is on track for interruption of transmission in the Americas by 2012, in line with Pan American Health Organization resolution CD48.R12. The success of this public health program is due to a robust public-private partnership involving national governments, local communities, donor organizations, intergovernmental bodies, academic institutions, non-profit organizations and the pharmaceutical industry. The lessons learned through the efforts in the Americas are in turn informing the program to control and eliminate onchocerciasis in Africa. However, continued support and investment are needed for program implementation and post-treatment surveillance to protect the gains to-date and ensure complete elimination is achieved and treatment can be safely stopped within all 13 regional foci.</p>
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