Exposure of Seasonal Migrant Workers to Onchocerca volvulus on Coffee Plantations in Guatemala

Kim A. Lindblade Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Kim A. Lindblade in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Michael Richards Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Michael Richards in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Jane Richards Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Jane Richards in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Rodrigo J. Gonzalez Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Rodrigo J. Gonzalez in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Nancy Cruz-Ortiz Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Nancy Cruz-Ortiz in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Guillermo Zea-Flores Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Guillermo Zea-Flores in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Alba Lucia Morales Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Alba Lucia Morales in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Mauricio Sauerbrey Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Mauricio Sauerbrey in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Julio Castro Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Julio Castro in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Eduard Catú Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Eduard Catú in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Byron Arana Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Byron Arana in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Frank O. Richards Jr Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Frank O. Richards Jr in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
Robert E. Klein Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro de Estudios en Salud, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Ministerio de Salud Publica y Asistencia Social, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia

Search for other papers by Robert E. Klein in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

Onchocerciasis (river blindness), which is close to being eliminated from Guatemala through semiannual administration of ivermectin, is still transmitted in one area of the country that coincidentally receives an annual influx of migrant workers to harvest coffee. Migrant workers generally are not included in semiannual ivermectin treatments, but if infected could serve as a reservoir. We report on two studies undertaken to measure the exposure to onchocerciasis (presence of IgG4 antibodies to a recombinant Onchocerca volvulus antigen, OV-16) among migrant workers. During two coffee harvest seasons, 170 migrant workers with a history of working in the disease-endemic area were tested and 1 (0.6%, 95% confidence interval = 0–3.2%) was seropositive. This low rate of exposure in migrant workers indicates that they are unlikely to play a significant role in transmission of onchocerciasis and may indicate that transmission in the last remaining disease-endemic area of Guatemala is decreasing significantly.

Author Notes

  • 1

    Onchocerciasis (river blindness), 2005. Report from the Fourteenth InterAmerican Conference on Onchocerciasis, Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Wkly Epidemiol Rec 80 :257–260.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 2

    Cruz-Ortiz N, Rizzo N, Gonzalez R, Sauerbrey M, Zea-Flores G, Dominguez A, Oliva O, Catu E, Castro J, Lindblade KA, 2008. Evaluación Entomológica, Serológica y Oftalmológica para Demostrar la Eliminación de la Transmisión de Onchocerca volvulus en el Foco de Huehuetenango. Guatemala City, Guatemala: CDC-CAP.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 3

    Gonzalez RJ, Cruz-Ortiz N, Rizzo N, Richards J, Zea-Flores G, Dominguez A, Sauerbrey M, Catu E, Oliva O, Richards FO, Lindblade KA, 2009. Successful interruption of transmission of Onchocerca volvulus in the Escuintla-Guatemala focus, Guatemala. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 3 :e404.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 4

    Lindblade KA, Arana B, Zea-Flores G, Rizzo N, Porter CH, Dominguez A, Cruz-Ortiz N, Unnasch TR, Punkosdy GA, Richards J, Sauerbrey M, Castro J, Catu E, Oliva O, Richards FO Jr, 2007. Elimination of Onchocerca volvulus transmission in the Santa Rosa focus of Guatemala. Am J Trop Med Hyg 77 :334–341.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 5

    Yamagata Y, Suzuki T, Garcia Manzo GA, 1986. Geographical distribution of the prevalence of nodules of Onchocerca volvulus in Guatemala over the last four decades. Trop Med Parasitol 37 :28–34.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 6

    Onchocerciasis (river blindness), 2006. Report from the Fifteenth InterAmerican Conference on Onchocerciasis, Caracas, Venezuela. Wkly Epidemiol Rec 81 :293–296.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 7

    Plant R, 1996. Hacia la Reconstrucción de la Sociedad Civil: Las Organizaciones de Trabajadores Rurales en Guatemala. CUESTIONES DE DESARROLLO. Geneva: International Labour Organization.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 8

    Baumeister E, 1993. Guatemala: Los Trabajadores Temporales de la Agricultura. Gómez S, Klein E, eds. Los Pobres del Campo: el Trabajador Eventual. Santiago: FLACSO/PREALC.

    • PubMed
    • Export Citation
  • 9

    Rodriguez-Perez MA, Segura-Cabrera A, Lizarazo-Ortega C, Basanez MG, Davies JB, 2007. Contribution of migrant coffee labourers infected with Onchocerca volvulus to the maintenance of the microfilarial reservoir in an ivermectin-treated area of Mexico. Filaria J 6 :16.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 10

    Porter CH, Collins RC, 1988. Seasonality of adult black flies and Onchocerca volvulus transmission in Guatemala. Am J Trop Med Hyg 38 :153–167.

  • 11

    Porter CH, Collins RC, 1988. Biting activity of black flies in Guatemala: parity rates and differences between localities and habitats. Am J Trop Med Hyg 38 :142–152.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • 12

    Brandling-Bennett AD, Anderson J, Fuglsang H, Collins R, 1981. Onchocerciasis in Guatemala. Epidemiology in fincas with various intensities of infection. Am J Trop Med Hyg 30 :970–981.

    • PubMed
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
Past two years Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 1364 1307 53
Full Text Views 293 3 0
PDF Downloads 56 4 0
 
 
 
 
Affiliate Membership Banner
 
 
Research for Health Information Banner
 
 
CLOCKSS
 
 
 
Society Publishers Coalition Banner
Save