Discovery of a new focus of human onchocerciasis in central Brazil

Abstract

An autochthonous case of human onchocerciasis was reported 13 years ago in the town of Minaçu, northern Goiás (Brazil), but a subsequent survey of the population using the traditional technique of examining skin biopsies with the light microscope failed to detect other cases. Recent surveys using more sensitive diagnostic techniques (serodiagnosis, DNA probes, Mazzotti test) that are detailed in this paper revealed the presence of other cases of the disease in Minaçu, the nearby town of Formoso and at the Buracão gold mine near Paranã. The data show that transmission of the disease has occurred to local people living in town and on farms and that gold miners (garimpeiros) are a likely source of infection.