Niger becomes the first country in the African Region to eliminate onchocerciasis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) congratulated Niger on achieving the standard required to eliminate onchocerciasis.
- Niger is recognised as the fifth country in the world, the first in Africa, to have successfully halted the transmission of the parasite Onchocerca volvulus.
- The other four countries that have reached this milestone are all located in the Americas: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.
About Onchocerciasis
- Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness, is a parasitic disease and is the second leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, after trachoma.
- The parasite Onchocerciasis is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected blackfly of the genus Simulium, which breeds in fast-flowing rivers and streams. The blackfly vector ingests microfilariae (immature worms) when it bites an infected person.
- The disease primarily affects rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa and Yemen, with smaller endemic areas found in parts of Latin America. More than 99% of infected people live in Africa and Yemen; the remaining 1% live on the border between Brazil and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).
