**2. Onchocerciasis**

Another neglected tropical disease caused by a filarial nematode is onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness. This disease is caused through infections with *Onchocerca volvulus*, a filarial nematode transmitted by bites of *Simulium* blackflies (see **Table 1**). These blackflies breed usually along fast-flowing and oxygen-rich rivers, hence the term river blindness. Similar to LF, onchocerciasis is a major public health problem in endemic areas due to the risk to develop severe dermatitis, vision impairment and blindness. With new diagnostic tools and the aid of MDAs, onchocerciasis was successfully eliminated in many foci of its endemic region [31]. The WHO targets elimination of transmission for onchocerciasis, set for 2022 in the Americas and for 12 African countries by 2030 [31].
