News & Publications

River Blindness Program - In the News

March 2, 2010
Transmission of River Blindness, One of the World's Leading Infectious Causes of Blindness, Has Stopped in Ecuador
Published March 2, 2010, by Global Health Progress Media Center.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Ecuador announced that transmission of onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, has stopped in that country. This achievement is the result of the work by MOH workers with support of the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas (OEPA).

Nov. 25, 2009
Advances in Tropical Medicine and Global Health Highlighted at A.S.T.M.H. Event
This article was published Nov. 9, 2009, by TropIKA.net.
The annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is one of the most prestigious events of its kind and is claimed by its organisers to be "the premier forum for scientific advances in tropical medicine and global health". This year's meeting took place 18–22 November in Washington DC.

Nov. 21, 2009
River Blindness (Onchocerciasis) Reduced by Nearly One-third in At-risk Populations in Six Countries
A regional initiative launched in the 1990s to eliminate onchocerciasis (river blindness) in the Americas has substantially reduced the prevalence of the disease in recent years, as evidenced by a 31% decrease in the number of individuals requiring mass drug administration in six endemic countries.  Results were reported today at the 58th annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

Nov. 12, 2008
Public Health Officials Announce Progress in Elimination of Transmission of the Tropical Disease River Blindness
Public health officials gathering at the 18th Inter-American Conference on Onchocerciasis (IACO) in Oaxaca, Mexico, announced that transmission of the tropical disease onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) has been halted in areas covering 31 percent of the population in Latin America formerly at risk of contracting the disease.

Oct. 7, 2008
Pan American Health Organization Passes Resolution to Interrupt Transmission of River Blindness in Latin America by 2012
In an effort to eliminate river blindness (onchocerciasis) from the Western Hemisphere, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an urgent call to interrupt the disease's transmission by 2012.

Jan. 4, 2008
Carter Center, Partners, Celebrate 100 Millionth Mectizan® Treatment
The Carter Center's River Blindness Program, with its global partners, announced recently the 100 millionth treatment of Mectizan® since 1996. The drug, proven effective and safe in treatment and prevention of river blindness, also called onchocerciasis, is donated by Merck & Co., Inc. 

Nov. 20, 2007
Colombia is First Country to Interrupt Transmission of River Blindness
Colombia has become the first country to interrupt transmission of onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) on a countrywide basis, according to officials of the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program in the Americas (OEPA).

March 13, 2007
National Public Radio: A Doctor's Lifelong Commitment to Fight Diseases (PDF)
Dr. Frank Richards specializes in the infectious diseases that are rampant in developing countries, especially diseases that target children.

Feb. 20, 2007
New York Times Feature: Let's Start a War, One We Can Win
This fearture by  Nicholas Kristof was published Feb. 20, 2007, by The New York Times and is posted with permission.
They were two old men, one arriving by motorcade with bodyguards and the other groping blindly as he shuffled on a footpath with a stick, but for a moment the orbits of Jimmy Carter and Mekonnen Leka intersected on this remote battlefield in southern Ethiopia. Click here for official reprint (PDF).

18 February 2007
New York Times Feature: Torture By Worms
This fearture by  Nicholas Kristof was published Feb. 18, 2007, by The New York Times and is posted with permission.
Presidents are supposed to be strong, and on his latest visit to Africa Jimmy Carter proved himself strong enough to weep. Click here for official reprint (PDF).

April 11, 2005
Emory Report Feature: Moses Katabarwa
Note: This article originally appeared in the April 11, 2005, issue of Emory Report. Reprinted with permission.  
 

Oct. 9, 2005
Houston Chronicle Feature:  River Blindness—A Forgotten Disease
A forgotten disease: With the help of a Houston billionaire, an ex-president and an army of volunteers, millions of Africans will be spared from river blindness.