Does Increasing Treatment Frequency Address Suboptimal Responses to Ivermectin for the Control and Elimination of River Blindness?

Abstract

The strategy of biannual ivermectin treatment in Ghana has reduced O. volvulus microfilarial intensity and prevalence, but suboptimal responses to treatment remain evident in a number of previously and consistently implicated communities. Whether increasing the frequency of treatment will be sufficient to meet the World Health Organization's 2020 elimination goals remains uncertain.