Review of Mansonella ozzardi and its Vectors in the Neotropical Region with Emphasis on the Current Situation in Haiti

Abstract

Mansonella ozzardi (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) is an understudied filarial nematode. This human parasite transmitted by two families of dipteran vectors, biting midges (most of them members of the genus Culicoides) and black flies (genus Simulium), is endemic to the Neotropic regions of the New World. With a patchy geographic distribution from southern Mexico to northwestern Argentina, human infection with M. ozzardi is highly prevalent in some of the Caribbean islands, along riverine communities in the Amazon Basin, and on both sides of the border between Bolivia and Argentina. Studies conducted in Haiti between 1974 and 1984 allowed the first complete description of adult worm and permitted to clarify the taxonomic position of this filarial species. In this paper, the author reports the known geographic distribution of M. ozzardi in neotropical regions of America and Caribbean, and focuses on the current situation in Haiti where this filariasis remains a completely neglected public health problem.