Chapter 5 : The Blinding Neglected Tropical Diseases: Onchocerciasis (River Blindness) and Trachoma

Abstract:

This chapter talks about the impact of blindness that results from two neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that are entirely preventable with simple, safe, and effective preventive chemotherapy. Onchocerciasis is a parasitic helminth infection occurring in an estimated 20 to 30 million people, primarily in West and Central Africa. Onchocerciasis is also known as river blindness because the Simulium blackflies that transmit this filarial infection breed along fast-flowing streams. The infection is caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a filarial worm mostly migrate in the skin, where it causes intense itching and disfigurement. Onchocerciasis also produces a serious, debilitating, and stigmatizing skin disease (OSD). The Onchocerciasis Control Program (OCP) has helped to facilitate the elimination of onchocerciasis in large regions of 11 West African countries. Trachoma is a bacterial infection occurring in approximately 20 million persons living in the developing regions of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, and Southeast Asia. The infection is spread from person to person on dirty hands and clothing, but it is also carried by flies, which can carry the Chlamydia bacteria from the eye discharges of one person to another. A breakthrough in the global control of trachoma was the discovery that a single dose of azithromycin was as effective as 4 to 6 weeks of topical tetracycline.