Preliminary assessment of the impact of Ivermectin in the treatment of onchocerciasis in Ezza Nkwubor and Umuhu communities in Enugu state, Nigeria

Abstract

Blackflies have been implicated over the years as the vector of onchocerciasis (River blindness). Ivermectin on the other hand has been the drug of choice for the treatment of onchocerciasis and to a great extent indirectly serving as systemic insecticide thereby breaking the transmission cycle of the disease. This study tried to evaluate the impact of ivermectin in Ezza Nkwubor and Umuhu communities of Enugu East and Isi Uzor LGAs of Enugu State, respectively. Epidemiological survey was carried out to check for the presence of microfilariae in skin snip samples collected from both left and right iliac crests of subjects living in the community. A total of 147 subjects were evaluated in the two communities. There was a significant difference p = 0.266 in the age distribution and also in the gender distribution p = 0.316. It was observed that the knowledge of ivermectin in the study areas was significantly different p = 0.012 and for those that have been skin snipped before there was also a statistically significant difference p = 0.000. More so, all samples subjected to microscopic analysis tested negative. It will be hasty to conclude that onchocerciasis has been eliminated from these communities. Further studies on the presence of the vector and their vectorial capacity could also assist in determining the actual status of onchocerciasis in the study areas.

Keywords: Epidemiological survey, Onchocerciasis, Ivermectin, Microfilariae, Ezza Nkwubor and Umuhu communities, Enugu State, Nigeria