Good News from Mexico: Surveillance Studies Confirm River Blindness Eradication Mexico News Daily
go to original September 24, 2015

Ending River Blindness in Mexico (The Carter Center)

Just as one disease is eliminated, along comes another. The tropical virus chikungunya, first identified in Mexico in June of last year, is spreading rapidly, with confirmed cases now numbering over 5,000.

But another, more serious ailment appears to have been eradicated.

A study in southern Mexico that wrapped up in May found no sign of river blindness, or onchocerciasis, an eye and skin infection produced by a parasite that is transmitted by blackflies. As many as 25 million people are believed to be infected worldwide, 300,000 of whom are blind as a result.

The blackflies that transmit river blindness live near fast-flowing rivers and streams, hence its name.

While the disease is found for the most part in sub-Saharan Africa, it has turned up in Yemen and the Americas, having arrived in this part of the world via the slave trade.

Read the rest at Mexico News Daily

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