A taxa summary for the Simulium damnosum complex, with special reference to distribution outside the control areas of West Africa

Abstract

A synoptic list is provided of currently recognized taxa in the Simulium damnosum complex, with an indication of their geographical distributions. Outline maps are given for the distribution of S. damnosum sensu lato, and for the West African cytospecies of the complex. Short reports on the identities and distributions of member taxa are given for countries other than those of the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in the Volta River Basin (OCP) and its Senegambia Extension; these are mainly based on collation of published and unpublished data for the post-1976 period (since the last WHO Expert Committee Report on Onchocerciasis).