title: Prevalence of Mansonella ozzardi among riverine communities in the municipality of Lábrea, State of Amazonas, Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Estimate the prevalence of Mansonella ozzardi infection and calculate the parasitic infection rate (PIR) in simuliid black flies in the municipality of Lábrea, State of Amazonas, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prevalence was measured using the thick blood smear method collected from the fingers and was related to age, sex and occupation. Simuliidae were collected with a suction apparatus, then stained with hematoxylin and dissected to verify the PIR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average prevalence rate of M. ozzardi among the 694 individuals examined was 20.7%. Infection was higher in men (27.6%) than in women (14.3%) (p < 0.001) and occurred in most age groups, with the highest prevalence in the following age groups: 38-47 (40%), 48-57 (53.1%) and >58 (60.5%). The highest prevalence rates were observed in the retired (64%), followed by farm workers (47.1%). Infection by M. ozzardi was only identified in Cerqueirellum amazonicum (Simuliidae) with a PIR of 0.6%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed a high prevalence of M. ozzardi in the riverine communities of Lábrea due to the lack of policies regarding the treatment of microfilaremic individuals in the region and an abundance of competent vectors for M. ozzardi.
authors.affiliation: Coordenação de Pesquisas em Ciências da Saúde, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Manaus, AM, Brasil. jmedeiro@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jansen Fernandes
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Py-Daniel
authors.forename: Ulysses Carvalho
authors.initials: UC
authors.lastname: Barbosa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D008366:Mansonella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008368:Mansonelliasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D055815:Young Adult