River Blindness Facts

River blindness elimination program what is river blindness.
River blindness facts. Onchocerciasis is an eye and skin disease caused by a worm filaria known scientifically as onchocerca volvulus. Watch this slideshow on river blindness and learn about a disease caused by onchocerca volvulus. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of a blackfly simulium species. River blindness also known as onchocerciasis is an eye and skin infection caused by parasitic worms.
How do you get river blindness. The parasite that causes river blindness. It is transmitted to humans through exposure to repeated bites of infected blackflies of the genus simulium. Symptoms include severe itching bumps under the skin and blindness.
In 2018 218 million people were in need of treatment for river blindness the majority of the burden being in africa according to the world health organization. Within the human body the adult. Onchocerciasis is a parasitic disease caused by parasites nematode named onchocerca volvulus it is transmitted to humans by the bite blood meal of the female blackfly simulium the disease is also termed river blindness because the vector the blackfly is usually found breeding close to rapidly flowing streams and rivers and because the most devastating manifestation of the infection is. It is transmitted by the repeated bite of black flies carrying the parasite that live on the banks of fast flowing rivers and.
Onchocerciasis also known as river blindness is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm onchocerca volvulus. Onchocerciasis commonly known as river blindness is caused by the parasitic worm onchocerca volvulus. Onchocerciasis or river blindness is a neglected tropical disease ntd caused by the parasitic worm onchocerca volvulus it is transmitted through repeated bites by blackflies of the genus simulium the disease is called river blindness because the blackfly that transmits the infection lives and breeds near fast flowing streams and rivers mostly near remote rural villages. Symptoms include severe itching disfiguring skin conditions and visual impairment including permanent blindness.
These flies breed in fast flowing streams and rivers increasing the risk of blindness to individuals living nearby hence the commonly known name of river blindness. The parasite worm is spread by the bites of a black fly of the simulium type. Volvulus with 95 percent of those infected found in africa the infection is also found in areas of central and south america and in the arabian peninsula.