title: The burden of blindness in adult males in the savanna villages of West Africa exposed to onchocerciasis.
abstract: Cross-sectional surveys for the prevalence of blindness in West African savanna villages misrepresent the actual burden which blindness imposes on communities. High mortality in the blind, resulting in a shorter life expectancy as compared to non-blind, is associated with high incidence rates and with a rapid turn-over in the blind population. Data collected in Burkina Faso indicate that, in hyperendemic villages, 46% of males and 35% of females aged 15 are likely to become blind before they die. Respective rates in mesoendemic villages are 14% in males and 9.8% in females. The results presented in this paper reinforce the conclusion that blindness, especially onchocerciasis associated blindness, is of greater social and economic significance than usually estimated.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002050:Burkina Faso; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009855:Onchocerciasis / Q000150:complications*; D011336:Probability