[Is onchocerciasis endemic to Nyanza Lac (Burundi)?].

Several cases of onchocerciasis have been detected among suspected patients at the Nyanza Lac health centre, in southern Burundi. Surveys in three 'collines' (administrative units) of the commune of Nyanza Lac confirmed the presence of the disease (5.5% in the sample). However, all the onchocerciasis patients were adults and had immigrated from the near-by province of Bururi, where onchocerciasis is endemic. Furthermore, no aquatic forms of simuliid flies have been found in the prospected watercourses and the environment is not characteristic of an endemic region. Thus, one can conclude that onchocerciasis is imported, and not endemic, in the commune of Nyanza Lac, but that the proximity of other endemic areas could entail a risk of transmission.