REASSESSMENT OF ONCHOCERCIASIS PREVALENCE IN ETTEH, NIGERIA, AFTER A DECADE OF MASS MECTIZAN CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION: PRELIMINARY REPORT

A reassessment of the prevalence of onchocerciasis was carried out in Etteh community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu state, Nigeria. The community has been known to be highly endemic for onchocerciasis. The assessment of endemicity was based on Rapid Assessment Method (RAM), which involved the use of two onchocercal indices namely the presence of palpable nodules and depigmentation (Leopard skin). Out of the 716 individuals examined consisting of 327 males and 389 females, the overall prevalence of palpable onchocercal nodules was 51.4%. The females had insignificantly (P>0.05) higher rate of onchocercomata (51.9%) than males (44.0%). The anatomical distribution of nodules in descending order of occurrence was pelvic region (26.3%), head and neck region (20.6%), thorax and lumbar (15.7%),  upper limbs (14.5%), lower limbs (12.4%) and others (abdomen and shoulders, 5.9%). It is obvious that in spite of the decade-long, annual free distribution of Mectizan in the area, onchocerciasis prevalence is still high.