Background: There is considerable interest in determining whether mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin for onchocerciasis control will eliminate coendemic lymphatic filariasis (LF). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of LF microfilaremia in onchocerciasis endemic districts that had received 7 years of MDA with ivermectin. Method: Three villages with a 2010 LF circulating antigenaemia prevalence (determined in a mapping exercise using immunochromatography tests) ranging from 23 to 56% were surveyed for the presence of Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaria (mf) in 2012. These villages had been treated with ivermectin MDA for onchocerciasis with reported total population coverage of ≥65%. A total of 774 residents aged 2 years and above, of both genders, provided 60 μl nocturnal blood samples between 10 pm and 2 am. Standard thick smears were prepared and examined microscopically after Giemsa staining for the presence of W. bancrofti mf. Results: The mean mf prevalence was 4.7% (village range 1.1-11.0%). The mean mf density was 9.8 mf/60 μl (village range 9-13.1) among the positive individuals. Children in the 2-4-year-old and 5-9-year-old age groups were infected suggesting transmission occurred during the MDA period. A village level review of MDA treatment coverage records showed an average total population coverage of 66.4% over a 7-year period, but with a considerable range of annual coverage (43.0-89.9%). In addition, village level treatment coverage data were missing from the village with the highest mf prevalence (11%) for 2 of the 7 years. Conclusion: 7 years of annual mass treatment with ivermectin monotherapy for onchocerciasis did not interrupt LF transmission. In expanding the onchocerciasis ivermectin MDA programme to include LF, albendazole should be added and treatment coverage improved.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of onchocerciasis and the entomological transmission indices such as the parous rate and annual transmission potential (ATP). Setting: Gilgel Ghibe village, Gilgel Ghibe River Valley Southwest Ethiopia between April 1994 and March 1995. Subjects: Two hundred twenty eight subjects of the total 400 population in Gilgel Ghibe village were subjected to parasitological and clinical examinations. Method: Two skin snips per person were taken and examined for microfilariae of Onchocerca volvulus. Fly collections were done from dawn to dusk from human baits seated in pairs at four representative sites at the river bank and away from the river bank. Flies were dissected for parity and infections with O. volvulus larvae. Results: Among the 228 people examined, the prevalence of the disease was low (17%), being higher in males (19%) than in females (14%). The geometric mean of microfilarial density was 11.1 (range, 1-132) mf per skin snip. Itching followed by pigmentary changes were the most common clinical signs and symptoms. The predominant anthropophilic blackfly species was Simulium (Edwardsellum) damnosum s.l. The annual parous rate and ATP were 74.7% and 1669.5, respectively, being higher at the river bank than at sites further away suggesting a greater risk of infection by the river side. Conclusion:The low prevalence of onchocerciasis in Gilgel Ghibe area vis-a-vis the high ATP level could be due to the possible presence of bovine onchocerciasis in the area. Further studies employing molecular techniques are thus required to identify O. volvulus from other filariae in flies.

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Water Hyacinth Leaf Protein Concentrate/Graphene Oxide/Chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol (WHLPC/GO/CS/PVA) composite was synthesized for the removal of Cr (VI) from wastewater. About 80% of the prepared composite material constitutes WHLPC which is extracted from water hyacinth plant leaf. The prepared material was characterized by FT-IR and XRD. The process variables such as pH, contact time, dosage, initial Cr (VI) concentration, and temperature were optimized using a batch mode experiment. Kinetic studies were conducted using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models and it was observed that the chemosorptive pseudo-second-order model described the adsorption system in a better way, with a high value of R2. The highest adsorption capacity of 202.59 mg/g was achieved at pH 1.0, and equilibrium was achieved within 330 min. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were analyzed using non-linear fitting. It was found that the Langmuir model gives the best fit indicating monolayer adsorption of Cr (VI) on the WHLPC/GO/CS/PVA. The reuse efficiency of the synthesized material was also found to be greater than 65% for five consecutive cycles. Thermodynamic studies were conducted and results revealed that the adsorption was natural and endothermic.