Simulium neavei-transmitted onchocerciasis: HIV infection increases severity of onchocercal skin disease in a small sample of patients.

Onchocercal skin disease was measured in 72 onchocerciasis patients from western Uganda, where Simulium neavei is the main transmitting vector of Onchocerca volvulus. The onchocerciasis patients who were HIV-positive had a higher onchocercal skin score compared with those who were HIV-negative (33.7 vs. 19.4, P < 0.001).