{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,26]],"date-time":"2025-10-26T15:03:08Z","timestamp":1761490988063,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,30]],"date-time":"2020-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1588204800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010663","name":"H2020 European Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["671055"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["671055"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010663","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recently, there were anecdotal reports of a high number of persons with epilepsy, including children with nodding seizures in the Landja Mboko area located about 9 km from the capital city Bangui, Central African Republic. We suspected the area to be endemic for onchocerciasis, and that the alleged increase in the number of epilepsy cases was due to ongoing Onchocerca volvulus transmission. However, ivermectin mass drug distribution (MDA) had never been implemented in the area. Therefore we performed an Ov16 antibody prevalence study among children, aged 6\u20139 years, using the biplex rapid diagnostic test (SD Bioline Oncho\/LF biplex IgG4 RDT). The overall Ov16 seroprevalence was 8.9%, and that of lymphatic filariasis (LF) was 1.9%. Ov16 seropositivity was highest in Kodjo (20.0%), a village close to rapids on the river. Our study shows that there is ongoing O. volvulus transmission in the Landja Mboko area. We recommend that the extent of this onchocerciasis focus should be mapped, and the introduction of ivermectin MDA should be considered in these communities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens9050337","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,4]],"date-time":"2020-05-04T03:29:39Z","timestamp":1588562979000},"page":"337","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Focus of Ongoing Onchocerciasis Transmission Close to Bangui, Central African Republic"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Eric","family":"de Smet","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Salvatore","family":"Metanmo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INSERM, University of Limoges, CHU Limoges, IRD, U1094 Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, GEIST, 87000 Limoges, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pascal","family":"Mbelesso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facult\u00e9 des Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Universit\u00e9 de Bangui, Bangui BP:3183, Central African Republic"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Benoit","family":"Kemata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Onchocerciasis Control Programme, Neglected Disease Control Programme, Bangui P.O. Box 883, Central African Republic"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3544-1239","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joseph N.","family":"Siewe Fodjo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium"},{"name":"HILPharma Organization, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 25625, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Farid","family":"Boum\u00e9di\u00e8ne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INSERM, University of Limoges, CHU Limoges, IRD, U1094 Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, GEIST, 87000 Limoges, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hilda T.","family":"Ekwoge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HILPharma Organization, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. 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Box 127, Democratic Republic of the Congo"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pierre-Marie","family":"Preux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INSERM, University of Limoges, CHU Limoges, IRD, U1094 Tropical Neuroepidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology and Tropical Neurology, GEIST, 87000 Limoges, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1919-1340","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robert","family":"Colebunders","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Global Health Institute, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2020, March 01). African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) | Central African Republic. 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