A propos de la distribution géographique de la loase

Prevalences of Loa loa microfilaraemia throughout the area endemic for the infection

“…The point is, however, controversial. Rodhain and Rodhain-Rebourg (1973) simply acknowledged that the western limit of the distribution area of Loa is dif® cult to de® ne, although they concluded that Loa does not exist in the forest block which extends from Guinea to Ghana. They based this conclusion on the facts that: (1) no autochtonous case of Loa infection has been recorded during surveys in this area, which involved several thousand subjects in total (Thiroux, 1912;Poindexter, 1950;P® ster, 1954;Burch and Greenville, 1955;Thomas, 1958), and (2) C. silacea and C. dimidiata do not exist in this block (except in Ghana), and the only potential vectors in the area are C. distinctipennis and C. longicornis, whose vectorial capacities are low.…”

“…They based this conclusion on the facts that: (1) no autochtonous case of Loa infection has been recorded during surveys in this area, which involved several thousand subjects in total (Thiroux, 1912;Poindexter, 1950;P® ster, 1954;Burch and Greenville, 1955;Thomas, 1958), and (2) C. silacea and C. dimidiata do not exist in this block (except in Ghana), and the only potential vectors in the area are C. distinctipennis and C. longicornis, whose vectorial capacities are low. Rodhain and Rodhain-Rebourg (1973) assumed that some of the cases of loiasis reported in West Africa corresponded to misdiagnosis of patients with heavy W. bancrofti infections and the others may have acquired their infections while working in countries east of Benin.…”

“…The latter reason is all the more important because ivermectin-distribution programmes against onchocerciasis are currently being developed in many African countries, including some where loiasis is co-endemic. The objective of the present review is to update the previous reviews on the global distribution of loiasis (Rodhain and Rodhain-Rebourg, 1973;Sasa, 1976;Hawking, 1977), and to summarize the available data on the levels of endem icity recorded in the various endemic areas, in order to identify those areas where serious reactions might occur during large-scale, ivermectin treatment of onchocerciasis.…”

Short- and long-term action of multiple doses of ivermectin on loiasis microfilaremia.

“…The parasitic disease loiasis occurs throughout the Congolese forest area of central and west Africa. 1 Stoll 2 estimated the number of microfilariae carriers to be 13 million in 1947 while a more recent study by Fain 3 in 1981 reduced the number to 2-3 million. However, analyses of the symptomatology due to the Loa loa adult filariae and the specific immunologic responses of patients without microfilaria (mf) indicate that the real prevalence is somewhat higher, 4 and could involve more than 75% of the residents in these forest areas.…”

Chrysops silacea and C.dimidiata seasonality and loiasis prevalence in the Chaillu mountains, Congo

“…The forest regions of the Congo provide conditions favouring transmission of human loiasis (Rodhain & Rodhain-Rebourg, 1973 the roadside. In certain villages of this region, over 40% of the adult population are infected with Lou Zoa (Guyot) (Noireau et al, 1989).…”