Various control programs aim to stop<unk>  from being a public health problem. The first was the<unk>  Control Programme (OCP), which was launched in 1974, and at its peak, covered 30 million people in 11 countries. Through the use of larvicide spraying of fast-flowing rivers to control black fly populations, and from 1988 onwards, the use of ivermectin to treat infected people, the OCP eliminated<unk>  as a public health problem. The OCP, a joint effort of the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, was considered to be a success, and came to an end in 2002. Continued monitoring ensures<unk>  cannot reinvade the area of the OCP. Elimination In 1995, the African Programme for<unk>  Control (APOC) began covering another 19 countries, mainly relying upon the use of the drug ivermectin. Its goal was to set up community-directed treatment with ivermectin for those at risk of infection. In these ways, transmission has declined. APOC closed in 2015 and aspects of its work taken over by the WHO Expanded Special Programme for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN). As in the Americas, the objective of ESPEN working with Government Health Ministries and partner NGDOs, is the elimination of transmission of<unk> . This requires consistent annual treatment of 80% of the population in endemic areas for at least 10–12 years – the life span of the adult worm. No African country has so far verified elimination of<unk> , but treatment has stopped in some areas (e.g. Nigeria), following epidemiological and entomological assessments that indicated that no ongoing transmission could be detected. In 2015, WHO facilitated the launch of an elimination program in Yemen which was subsequently put on hold due to conflict. In 1992, the<unk>  Elimination Programme for the Americas, which also relies on ivermectin, was launched. On July 29, 2013, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced that after 16 years of efforts, Colombia had become the first country in the world to eliminate<unk> . In September 2015, the<unk>  Elimination Program for the Americas announced that<unk>  only remained in a remote region on the border of Brazil and Venezuela. The area is home to the Yanomami indigenous people. The first countries to receive verification of elimination were Colombia in 2013, Ecuador in 2014, Mexico in 2015 and Guatemala in 2016. The key factor in elimination is mass administration of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin. The initial projection was that the disease would be eliminated from remaining foci in the Americas by 2012. No vaccine to prevent<unk>  infection in humans is available. A vaccine to prevent<unk>  infection for cattle is in phase three trials. Cattle injected with a modified and weakened form of O. ochengi larvae have developed very high levels of protection against infection. The findings suggest that it could be possible to develop a vaccine that protects people against river blindness using a similar approach. Unfortunately, a vaccine to protect humans is still many years off.
Onchocerciasis
Pulicosis
Scarabiasis
Tungiasis
Leishmaniasis
Necatoriasis
Trichuriasis
Dracunculiasis