Colombia eradicates “river blindness,” paving way for hemisphere and Africa

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http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/02/3538718/colombia-eradicates-river-blindness.html


BOGOTA, Colombia -- This sometimes troubled Andean nation became a global role model this week when the World Health Organization certified it as the first country to eliminate onchocerciasis — the second-leading infectious cause of blindness.

It took Colombia and international health organizations more than a decade to drive the insect-borne illness, also known as river blindness, out of its stronghold. But the effort is a beacon to five other Latin American nations that are also battling the malady and Africa — where river blindness runs rampant.

“Colombia’s achievement demonstrates that a future free from river blindness is possible for everyone in the Americas,” said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, founder of The Carter Center, who traveled to Bogotá for the event. The Carter Center runs the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas, or OEPA, which has been coordinating and financing the eradication efforts in Colombia and throughout the hemisphere.

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There, health workers administered the anti-parasitic drug Mectizan — donated by pharmaceutical giant Merck — every six months for 12 consecutive years. In 2007, it was determined that onchocerciasis had quit spreading through the community of 1,366. The drug regime was stopped and the community was closely monitored for an additional three years. Last year, an international mission visited the site to verify that river blindness was no longer present, and on Monday the World Health Organization made the official announcement along with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/02/3538718/colombia-eradicates-river-blindness.html#storylink=cpy

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