Abstract
Reported in Haiti as early as 1923, Mansonella ozzardi is still a neglected disease ignored by the health authorities of the country. This review is an update on the geographic distribution of the coastal foci of mansonelliasis in Haiti, the epidemiological profile and prevalence rates of microfilariae in people living in endemic areas, the clinical impact of the parasite on health and the efficiency of the transmission of the parasite among three Culicoides biting-midge species identified as vectors in Haiti. Additionally, interest in establishing a treatment programme to combat this parasite using a single dose of ivermectin is emphasised.
Highlights
Mansonella ozzardi was first reported in Haiti by the Rockefeller mission in 1924 (Raccurt 1999) and remained unknown among medical authorities for 50 years
Health authorities have paid no attention to this disease and, as a result, mansonelliasis can be considered as a neglected filariasis
A mapping of foci of mansonelliasis in Haiti has been established using the geographic origin of M. ozzardi microfilaria carriers detected by the SNEM study (Ripert et al 1977)
Summary
Mansonella ozzardi was first reported in Haiti by the Rockefeller mission in 1924 (Raccurt 1999) and remained unknown among medical authorities for 50 years. In 1974, a thick-smear study performed throughout the country by the N a ti o n a l S e r v ic e o f M a j o r E n demic Diseases ( S NE M ) s h o w e d th e p r e s e n c e o f m i c r o filariae in peripheral blood, which were identified as M. ozzardi in most cases (Ripert et al 1977).
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