AFRICA: One step nearer to cure for river blindness NAIROBI, 12
March 2002 (IRIN) - It is bacteria inside parasitic worms, and
not the worms themselves, that cause river blindness, according
to the latest research published by British-based Nature
magazine. Onchocerciasis, more commonly known as river
blindness, earned its name because of its most extreme
manifestation. Its variety of symptoms range from serious visual
impairment, including blindness; rashes, lesions, intense
itching and de-pigmentation of the skin; lymphadenitis, which
results in hanging groins and elephantiasis of the genitals; and
general debilitation. The World Health Organisation reports that
of the 36 countries where the disease is endemic, 30 are in sub-
Saharan Africa (plus Yemen) and six in South America. An
estimated 17 to 18 million people suffer from it. The minute
offspring of parasitic worms - carried by black flies endemic in
fertile riverside areas - called microfilaria were believed to
cause the disease, Nature reported, with