Excess Mortality Associated With Loiasis: Confirmation by a New Retrospective Cohort Study Conducted in the Republic of Congo

Background: microfilaremia in the Southwestern Republic of Congo. Methods: microfilaremia on mortality in the population. Results: At baseline, prevalence of microfilaremia was 16.2%. During 17.62 years of cohort follow-up, 751 deaths were recorded, representing a crude mortality rate of 15.36 (95% CI, 14.28-16.50) per 1000 person-years. Median survival time was 58.5 (95% CI, 49.7-67.3) years and 39.2 (95% CI, 32.6-45.8) years for amicrofilaremic and microfilaremic indiviudals, respectively. Conclusions: microfilaremia, confirming previous observations from Cameroon. This adds to the evidence that loiasis is not a benign disease and deserves to be included in the WHO's list of Neglected Tropical Diseases.