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Open AccessMeeting report

Onchocerciasis Control: Vision for the Future from a Ghanian perspective

Mark J Taylor1 email, Kwablah Awadzi2 email, María-Gloria Basáñez3 email, Nana Biritwum4 email, Daniel Boakye5 email, Boakye Boatin6 email, Moses Bockarie7 email, Thomas S Churcher3 email, Alex Debrah8 email, Geoffrey Edwards1 email, Achim Hoerauf9 email, Sabine Mand9 email, Graham Matthews10 email, Mike Osei-Atweneboana11 email, Roger K Prichard11 email, Samuel Wanji12 email and Ohene Adjei8 email

Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK

Onchocerciasis Chemotherapy Research Centre (OCRC), Hohoe Hospital, Hohoe, Ghana

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, London, UK

Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme, Health Research Unit, Ghana Health Service, Accra, Ghana

Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana

TDR, World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland

Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases (incorporating the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK

Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana

Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

10  Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK

11  Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, Québec, Canada

12  Research Foundation for Tropical Diseases and the Environment (REFOTDE), Buea, Cameroon

author email corresponding author email

Parasites & Vectors 2009, 2:7doi:10.1186/1756-3305-2-7

Published: 21 January 2009

Abstract

Since 1987 onchocerciasis control has relied on the donation of ivermectin (Mectizan®, Merck & Co., Inc.) through the Mectizan Donation Programme. Recently, concern has been raised over the appearance of suboptimal responses to ivermectin in Ghana – highlighting the potential threat of the development of resistance to ivermectin. This report summarises a meeting held in Ghana to set the research agenda for future onchocerciasis control. The aim of this workshop was to define the research priorities for alternative drug and treatment regimes and control strategies to treat populations with existing evidence of suboptimal responsiveness and define research priorities for future control strategies in the event of the development of widespread ivermectin resistance.


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