Blindness and visual impairment in a region endemic for onchocerciasis in the Central African Republic

作者：Ellen Schwartz, RICHARD W. HUSS, Adrian Hopkins, B Dadjim, P Madjitoloum, C Henault, Volker Klauß · 发表于：British Journal of Ophthalmology · 年份：1997 · DOI：10.1136/bjo.81.6.443 · 被引用次数：56 · 研究领域：Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment、Insects and Parasite Interactions、Dermatological diseases and infestations

AIMS: A population based survey of blindness and visual impairment was conducted in the district of Bossangoa, Central African Republic. METHODS: A total of 48 communities were randomly selected, and 6086 people examined. RESULTS: The prevalence of blindness (visual acuity in the better eye less than 3/60) was 2.2%, and visual impairment 3.0% (6/24 to 3/60 in the better eye). The major causes of blindness were onchocerciasis (73.1%), cataract (16.4%), trachoma (4.5%), and glaucoma (2.2%). CONCLUSION: Around 95.5% of all blindness could potentially have been prevented or treated. Ivermectin mass distribution is hoped to prevent 50% of all forms of visual loss in the future.