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Start free with EleplanOnchocerciasis
ORPHA:2737Disease
What it is
A form of filariasis, caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus, transmitted by the black fly. The infection can either be asymptomatic or manifest as an ocular disease (river blindness) with itchy eyes, erythema, photophobia, onchodermatitis or onchocercal skin disease (classified into acute papular, chronic papular, lichenified, atrophic, and depigmentated) and onchocercomas (over bony prominences). Other classic clinical manifestations are ichthyosis-like lesions (''lizard skin'') and ''hanging groin'', which may be associated with lymphadenopathy.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- <1 / 1 000 000 (Europe)
- Age of onset
- All ages
- Inheritance
- Not applicable
- Classified as
- Disease
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
ICD-10 codes
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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