Screening and participant enrollment
ONCHOCERCIASIS, RECRUITMENT
Screening and recruitment were performed in Nkwanta North District in the Volta region of Ghana (approximately 4 hours by car from the clinical trial center in Hohoe, Ghana). Screening was conducted in communities that are hypoendemic for onchocerciasis (nodule prevalence < 20%) where MDA of IVM had only recently been implemented. The study team met with community leaders and local health personnel in Nkwanta North and held open community meetings to explain the purposes and plans for the study prior to screening and recruitment of participants. The meetings and consent forms were in English and a local language (either Twi or Konkomba) used in the study area. Participation required written consent for adults and written consent from a parent or guardian plus assent for minors younger than 18 years of age.