In 1930, examining blind patients in the region of former belgique-congo, the belgian physician Jean Hissette discovered the parasitic nematode Onchocerca volvulus, cause of river blindness or onchocerciasis. Research by the ophthalmologist Professor Guido Kluxen revealed new historic material – a video documenting the work of Hissette, taken during a visit of Professor Richard Pearson Strong in 1934. Today, an estimated 17 million people suffer from the infection, 95% of them in Africa. Diagnosis is made by microscopic examination of skin for microfilariae, standard treatment is a single dose of ivermectin.
Book (german): Dr. Jean Hissette und die Harvard Expedition von 1934. Guido Kluxen. Books on demand. ISBN 3-8334-1963-6.
Review: Control of Onchocerciasis. Adv Parasitol. 2006;61:349-94.
