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.