Onchoceriasis Volvulus causes a severe inflammatory response that leaves many blind.
The infective larvae are normally transmitted by the bite of Simulium flies. Once in the human body, the larvae undergo molting, to then reach the adult stage in about one year. Adult females produce millions of microfilariae that they shed in the blood of their human host. When female blackflies take a bloodmeal they ingest microfilariae. The microfilariae in the fly host transition. Larvae then molt, the infective stage for humans.
Blindness
The infective larvae are normally transmitted by the bite of Simulium flies. Once in the human body, the larvae undergo molting, to then reach the adult stage in about one year. Adult females produce millions of microfilariae that they shed in the blood of their human host. When female blackflies take a bloodmeal they ingest microfilariae. The microfilariae in the fly host transition. Larvae then molt, the infective stage for humans.
Blindness