part 1 - EuroAfrica-ICT

Sustainable Control of Onchocerciasis Today and TomorrowPeriod: 01/11/2006 to 31/10/2010Budget from EC: EUR 2 800 000Coordinator: Prof David William TaylorUniversity of EdinburghThe purpose of this project is to improve sustainable controlof onchocerciasis (river blindness) through refinement ofexisting chemotherapeutic regimes and identification ofnew targets and approaches for integrated control that willcombine chemotherapy with vaccination. The demand forthese studies comes from: regions where transmission had been interrupted; resistance; ivermectin treatment in loiasis endemic areas.There are three primary objectives: regimes by use of doxycycline to complement ivermectintreatment and further screening of existing drugs; intervention and their implications for improved controlstrategies; candidates, and approaches for integrated control.As doxycycline is already licensed for human use, combinationtherapy with ivermectin for selected indications(not mass treatment) will deliver short-term impact whileproviding a framework for the longer term vision ofintegrated chemotherapy-vaccine control of onchocerciasis.Health and public health