onchocerciasis

Also on·cho·cer·co·sis
Also

[ong-koh-ser-kahy-uh-sis]

noun

Pathology.

1. an infestation with filarial worms of the genus Onchocerca, common in tropical America and Africa, transmitted by black flies, and characterized by nodules under the skin, an itchy rash, eye lesions, and in severe cases, elephantiasis.

onchocerciasis

/ ˌɒŋkəʊsəˈkaɪəsɪs /

noun

1. Also called: river blindness. a disease found in parts of Africa and tropical America that is caused by a parasitic worm, Onchocerca volvulus, and transmitted to humans by various species of black fly. It results in inflammation of the skin and in some cases blindness

Word History and Origins

Origin of onchocerciasis¹

1910–15; < New Latin Onchocerc ( a ) a genus of filarioid worms ( oncho- (correctly onco- < Greek ónk ( os ) barb + -o- -o- ) + -cerca feminine of -cercus -tailed < Greek, adj. derivative of kérkos tail) + -iasis

Word History and Origins

Origin of onchocerciasis¹

C20: from Onchocerca , the genus of worms + _-iasis

Example Sentences

Another disease that interested Dr. Meyers was onchocerciasis, or river blindness, which is caused by a filarial, or parasitic, worm.

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“There are humanitarian benefits associated with reducing the blindness and suffering caused by onchocerciasis,” the World Bank report allowed.

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Yet by 2017 only 2% of people carried the worm, and there had been no new cases recorded of people going blind from onchocerciasis in a decade.

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Despite significant progress, 120 million people globally are still at risk of onchocerciasis and the condition is classed as endemic in 27 countries.

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Researchers had suggested as early as the 1960s that high rates of epilepsy in Tanzania, with similar nodding symptoms, might be related to onchocerciasis.

Read more on Science Magazine