Environmental assessment of larvicide use in the onchocerciasis control programme.

The objective of the Onchocerciasis Control Programme (OCP) is to eliminate onchocerciasis as a disease of public importance and as an obstacle to socio-economic development. The OCP was initially based solely on the control of the blackfly vector, Simulium damnosum sensu lato, by insecticide spraying of the breeding sites on river systems, where larval stages develop. Results of monitoring the environmental effects and the process of risk assessment for new insecticides are reviewed. The achievements of this strategy are outlined here by Davide Calamari, Laurent Yameogo, Jean-Marc Hougard and Christian Leveque.