SYMPOSIUM
Year : 2011 | Volume
: 3 | Issue : 2 | Page : 151--155
River blindness: An old disease on the brink of elimination and control
Kevin L Winthrop1, Joao M Furtado1, Juan C Silva2, Serge Resnikoff3, Van C Lansingh4
1 Casey Eye Institute, Division of International Ophthalmology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
2 Pan American Health Organization, Santa Fe de Bogotá DC, Colombia, USA
3 Director for Advocacy, International Council of Ophthalmology, Geneva, Switzerland; Co-chair for Europe, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, Geneva, Switzerland
4 International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Latin America Regional Director, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Correspondence Address:
Joao M Furtado
Casey Eye Institute, Division of International Ophthalmology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
For decades, onchocerciasis (or river blindness) was one of the most common infectious causes of blindness in the world. Primarily an infection of Africa, with limited distribution in the new world, disease due to the nematode Onchocerca volvulus is rapidly diminishing as a result of large public health campaigns targeting at risk populations in Africa and the Americas. Existing and newly-developed treatment strategies offer the chance to eliminate onchocercal ocular morbidity in some parts of the world. This article reviews these treatment strategies, current clinical and epidemiologic aspects of onchocerciasis, and the next steps toward elimination.
How to cite this article:
Winthrop KL, Furtado JM, Silva JC, Resnikoff S, Lansingh VC. River blindness: An old disease on the brink of elimination and control.J Global Infect Dis 2011;3:151-155
|
How to cite this URL:
Winthrop KL, Furtado JM, Silva JC, Resnikoff S, Lansingh VC. River blindness: An old disease on the brink of elimination and control. J Global Infect Dis [serial online] 2011 [cited 2023 Feb 3 ];3:151-155
Available from: https://www.jgid.org/article.asp?issn=0974-777X;year=2011;volume=3;issue=2;spage=151;epage=155;aulast=Winthrop;type=0 |
|
