Onchocerca volvulus DNA Probe Classification Correlates with Epidemiologic Patterns of Blindness
Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, results from infection with Onchocerca volvulus. The parasite is endemic to West Africa, in both rain forest and savanna bioclimes. Several lines of evidence suggest that different strains of the parasite exist in the rain forest and savanna. Furthermore, epidemio...
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Published in | The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 165; no. 5; pp. 964 - 968 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Chicago, IL
The University of Chicago Press
01.05.1992
University of Chicago Press |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, results from infection with Onchocerca volvulus. The parasite is endemic to West Africa, in both rain forest and savanna bioclimes. Several lines of evidence suggest that different strains of the parasite exist in the rain forest and savanna. Furthermore, epidemiologic evidence indicates that ocular onchocerciasis is most severe in savanna regions. This has led to the hypothesis that there is a strain association with ocular pathology. To test this hypothesis, parasites from villages in which severe and mild onchocerciasis were endemic were classified with two strain-specific DNA probes. A strong correlation (P < .001) was found between disease severity and probe recognition, supporting the hypothesis that pathogenicity is strain related. The results suggest that pFS-l and pSS-lBT may be used to predict the pathogenic potential of parasite populations throughout much of West Africa. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/HXZ-BCSLS48F-V Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Thomas R. Unnasch, Division of Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama, University Station, Birmingham, AL 35294. istex:2981E5641C7A8AD1DD24B94882FA0F8298890ED5 Present address: Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization. Switzerland ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0022-1899 1537-6613 |
DOI: | 10.1093/infdis/165.5.964 |