River Blindness News and Research

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River Blindness or onchocerciasis is caused by the prelarval (microfilaria) and adult stages of the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus. The disease is transmitted by the bite of certain species of female Simulium flies (black flies) that bite by day and are found near rapidly flowing rivers and streams. Onchocerciasis is endemic in more than 25 nations located in a broad band across the central part of Africa. Small endemic foci are also present in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) and in the Americas (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, southern Mexico, and Venezuela)

University Hospital Bonn coordinates eWHORM project to combat worm infections in sub-Saharan Africa

African and European partners join forces to enable the World Health Organisation's (WHO) "Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTDs) and reduce the burden of disease associated with worm infections.

11 Apr 2023

Lateral flow assays: The possibilities beyond COVID-19

In this interview, News-Medical talks to Andre Alfaro from nanoComposix (now a Fortis Life Sciences company) about the possibilities lateral flow assays offer in the post-covid healthscape.

From nanoComposix 17 Mar 2022

Researchers receive NIH grants to develop new treatments for neglected tropical diseases

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received two grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling more than $5.5 million to develop new treatments for two types of devastating parasitic infections common in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South America: river blindness and intestinal worm infections.

22 Dec 2021

As constituents clamor for ivermectin, Republican politicians embrace the cause

When state senators in South Carolina held two hearings in September about covid-19 treatments, they got an earful on the benefits of ivermectin — which many of the lawmakers echoed, sharing experiences of their own loved ones.

8 Nov 2021

Researchers identify several novel SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors

Researchers in London, UK, have identified several compounds with SARS-CoV-2 inhibiting properties, that potentially may be developed into antiviral solutions in the future.

9 Apr 2021

Researchers receive $2.95 million grant to create improved diagnostics for worm infections

Global campaigns to eliminate two tropical parasitic worm infections have been hindered by a lack of good diagnostic tools.

7 Jan 2021

Researchers identify traditional Ghanaian medicines to eradicate neglected tropical diseases

The discovery of new drugs is vital to achieving the eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Africa and around the world.

4 Jan 2021

Study reveals onchocerciasis can be eliminated by adapting new measures and tools

A report on onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) shows continued global progress towards achieving interruption of transmission of the disease.

15 Dec 2020

Illustrations by Nigerian artist kickstart debate on neglected tropical disease

Illustrations by a local artist in Nigeria are helping health workers and policy makers understand what it's really like to live with a neglected tropical disease (NTD).

5 Nov 2020

Suramin shows promise as COVID-19 treatment

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv reports the elucidation of the mechanism of inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by a non-nucleotide inhibitor called suramin. This is the first such compound to be shown to have such activity and shows promise for use as a repurposed drug against COVID-19.

12 Oct 2020

New method spurs production of antibiotic or antiparasitic compounds in actinobacteria

Researchers have developed a method to spur the production of new antibiotic or antiparasitic compounds hiding in the genomes of actinobacteria, which are the source of drugs such as actinomycin and streptomycin and are known to harbor other untapped chemical riches.

25 Jun 2020

'African eye worm' hampers efforts to eliminate river blindness, study shows

Efforts to eliminate river blindness, a debilitating disease affecting millions in Africa, will be hampered by another parasitic infection known as Loiasis, or 'African eye worm,' according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

20 Nov 2019

Scientists create new models of tropical eye worm for development of anti-filarial drugs

Researchers at the LSTM's Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics, and University of Buea, Cameroon have developed new models of the tropical eye worm, Loa loa for the development of new drugs against filariasis.

30 Mar 2019

Blood-suckers carrying malaria parasites can be traced back up to 100 million years

The microorganisms that cause malaria, leishmaniasis and a variety of other illnesses today can be traced back at least to the time of dinosaurs, a study of amber-preserved blood-sucking insects and ticks show.

27 Nov 2018

TGen North collaborates with NARBHA Institute to advance human health

TGen North, the Pathogen and Microbiome Division of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, has partnered with the non-profit NARBHA Institute to advance human health through the new TGen One Health Collaborative, an initiative that recognizes the interdependence of people, animals and plants in both the human-built and natural environments.

15 Nov 2018

Scientists develop urine diagnostic to detect parasitic worms that cause river blindness

Scientists at Scripps Research have developed a urine diagnostic to detect the parasitic worms that cause river blindness, also called onchocerciasis, a tropical disease that afflicts 18 to 120 million people worldwide.

28 Aug 2018

Fruit fly research leads to potential drug for debilitating diseases caused by parasitic worms

River blindness and elephantiasis are debilitating diseases caused by parasitic worms that infect as many as 150 million people worldwide.

13 Jul 2018

Researchers use smartphone to diagnose people infected with Loa loa worm

The Berkeley researchers figured out that they could quickly determine who has the Loa loa worm using a smartphone, customized to work like a microscope. They could then skip the medication for those people and give it to everyone else. Kamgno, who received the latest version of the phones in 2016, dubbed the mobile microscopes "revolutionary."

19 Apr 2018

LoaScope could be valuable approach in the fight against river blindness

River blindness, or onchocerciasis, is a disease caused by a parasitic worm found primarily in Africa. The worm (Onchocerca volvulus) is transmitted to humans as immature larvae through bites of infected black flies.

9 Nov 2017

LSTM researchers find new way to reduce treatment for some parasitic diseases

Researchers from LSTM's Research Centre for Drugs and Diagnostics have found a way of significantly reducing the treatment required for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis from several weeks to seven days. By targeting Wolbachia, a bacterial symbiont that the filarial parasites need to live, the team has discovered a drug synergy that enables effective treatment over a shorter time.

24 Oct 2017