Epidemiological study of onchocercosis in 5 villages of the valley of the Sanaga (Cameroon)

The study carried out in five villages in the Sanaga Valley of Cameroon was concerned with the prevalence of the disease, the level of infection and an evaluation of the effect of the parasites on the health of the people. Entomological data were also collected. The study was concerned with the onchocerciasis found in the forest area where the disease is hyperendemic. The males are infected moreoften than the females. Among the adults the skin and lymphatic lesions are extremly important. It was found that as the visual acuity diminishes with age, from age forty many for the people are blind. The villages most affected are those situated near the Sanaga rapids where there is a concentration of the breeding sites of the vectors.