This review summarises more than a century of research on onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, and its control. River blindness is an infection caused by the tissue filaria Onchocerca volvulus affecting the skin, subcutaneous tissue and eyes and leading to blindness in a minority of infected persons. The parasite is transmitted by its intermediate hosts Simulium spp. which breed in rivers. Featured are history and milestones in onchocerciasis research and control, state-of-the-art data on the parasite, its endobacteria Wolbachia, on the vectors, previous and current prevalence of the infection, its diagnostics, the interaction between the parasite and its host, immune responses and the pathology of onchocerciasis. Detailed information is documented on the time course of control programmes in the afflicted countries in Africa and the Americas, a long road from previous programmes to current successes in control of the transmission of this infectious disease. By development, adjustment and optimization of the control measures, transmission by the vector has been interrupted in foci of countries in the Americas, in Uganda, in Sudan and elsewhere, followed by onchocerciasis eliminations. The current state and future perspectives for control, elimination and eradication within the next 20–30 years are described and discussed. This review contributes to a deeper comprehension of this disease by a tissue-dwelling filaria and it will be helpful in efforts to control and eliminate other filarial infections.

这篇综述总结了对盘尾丝虫病（也称为河盲症）及其控制的一个多世纪的研究。河盲症是由丝状On虫（Onchocerca volvulus）感染皮肤，皮下组织和眼睛并导致少数感染者失明导致的感染。寄生虫由其中间宿主Simulium spp传播。在河流中繁殖。特色是盘尾丝虫病研究和控制的历史和里程碑，寄生虫的最新数据，其内细菌Wolbachia，在媒介，感染的先前和当前流行情况，诊断，寄生虫与其宿主之间的相互作用，免疫应答和盘尾丝虫病的病理学方面。有关非洲和美洲受灾国家控制计划的时程的详细信息已记录在案，这是从以前的计划到目前成功控制这种传染病传播的漫长道路。通过制定，调整和优化控制措施，在美洲，乌干达，苏丹和其他国家的病原体中，病媒的传播被中断，随后消除了盘尾丝虫病。描述并讨论了未来20-30年内控制，消除和根除的现状和未来观点。