River Blindness News and Research

RSS

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)

Clinical study tests 100-year-old drug in children with autism spectrum disorder

In a small, randomized Phase I/II clinical trial (SAT1), researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine say a 100-year-old drug called suramin, originally developed to treat African sleeping sickness, was safely administered to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who subsequently displayed measurable, but transient, improvement in core symptoms of autism.

26 May 2017

WHO marching toward extraordinary progress against neglected tropical diseases, report reveals

Since 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been reporting outstanding success in dealing with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) with 1 billion people estimated to have received treatments in 2015.

19 Apr 2017

Research finding could set stage for potential development of new antimicrobial drugs

Research teams from the National Institutes of Health and abroad have identified the first inhibitor of an enzyme long thought to be a potential drug target for fighting disease-causing parasites and bacteria.

3 Apr 2017

Vaxine’s unique adjuvants boost effectiveness of vaccines for battling against infectious diseases

SUGAR-based adjuvants from Australia are boosting the effectiveness of vaccines to target some of the world’s deadliest diseases.

7 Dec 2016

Study shines new light on genetic makeup of river blindness parasite

The parasite that causes river blindness infects about 37 million people in parts of Africa and Latin America, causing blindness and other major eye and skin diseases in about 5 million of them.

22 Nov 2016

Researchers sequence genome of parasitic worm that causes river blindness

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the parasitic worm responsible for causing onchocerciasis--an eye and skin infection more commonly known as river blindness.

21 Nov 2016

Geographers map internal migration across three continents to help combat infectious diseases

Geographers at the University of Southampton have completed a large scale data and mapping project to track the flow of internal human migration in low and middle income countries.

22 Aug 2016

PATH and SD/Alere announce commercial availability of two diagnostic tools for NTDs

PATH and Standard Diagnostics/Alere announced today the commercial availability of two rapid diagnostic tools for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. Designed for use in disease surveillance, the antibody-based tests are part of a suite of diagnostic innovations intended to support the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of illnesses that affect more than a billion people worldwide.

12 Apr 2016

Global Health Frontiers' four-part newsmagazine series premieres on public television’s WORLD Channel

The acclaimed public television documentary series Global Health Frontiers expands to a weekly newsmagazine with four one-hour episodes combining compelling journalism from the leading edges of global health developments with a fast-paced and energetic style.

23 Mar 2016

Scientists look for new antibiotic drugs in unexpected places

Many of the drugs we use in hospitals – antibiotics, antifungals and anti-cancer drugs, to name but a few – are produced by bacteria that live in the soil beneath our feet.

22 Mar 2016

Researchers take major step towards developing vaccine for river blindness

The world's first vaccine for a disease that causes misery for millions in Africa could be tested within five years.

12 Jan 2016

Researchers receive Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to eliminate neglected tropical diseases

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at eliminating river blindness and elephantiasis, two neglected tropical diseases that annually sicken millions.

14 Aug 2015

Smartphone checks blood for parasitic disease

New Smartphone technology has been developed that can detect and count wriggling parasitic worms in a drop of blood...

7 May 2015

Papers on antibiotic resistance, neglected diseases and future of the ocean to be discussed during G7 summit

Today the national science academies of the G7 countries handed three statements to their respective heads of government for discussion during the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in early June 2015. The papers on antibiotic resistance, neglected and poverty-related diseases, and the future of the ocean were drawn up by the seven national academies under the aegis of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

30 Apr 2015

WHO urges affected countries to increase investment in tackling neglected tropical diseases

WHO urges affected countries to scale up their investment in tackling 17 neglected tropical diseases in order to improve the health and well-being of more than 1.5 billion people. This investment would represent as little as 0.1% of current domestic expenditure on health in affected low and middle income countries for the period 2015-2030.

19 Feb 2015

DNDi awarded USAID grant to develop new treatments for river blindness, elephantiasis

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative has been awarded US$ 10 million by the United States Agency for International Development to develop new treatments for onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) - the first-ever USAID grant for neglected tropical disease research and development (R&D).

17 Dec 2014

Bayer, DNDi sign first agreement to develop new oral treatment for onchocerciasis

Bayer HealthCare and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have signed an agreement under which Bayer will provide the active ingredient emodepside to support DNDi in its effort to develop a new oral drug to treat river blindness (or onchocerciasis). The world's second leading infectious cause of blindness, river blindness is a neglected tropical disease caused by a filarial worm.

10 Dec 2014

Grand Challenges Canada announces $1.2 million in grant for 11 new global health innovations

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today announced $1.2 million in funding for 11 new global health innovations implemented in member states of La Francophonie.

29 Nov 2014

Gates Foundation provides $2 million grant to help fight major parasitic diseases

Almost $2 million is being invested by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help fight major parasitic diseases of the developing world.

25 Nov 2014

New, easy-to-use test to accelerate progress toward eliminating onchocerciasis in Africa

A new test will accelerate global progress toward eliminating onchocerciasis, a leading cause of preventable blindness in Africa. PATH, an international nonprofit health organization, today announced the availability of the SD BIOLINE Onchocerciasis IgG4 rapid test, manufactured and distributed by Standard Diagnostics, Inc.

3 Nov 2014