River Blindness

What?

River Blindness, or Onchocerciasis, is the world's second leading cause of blindness. Although rarely a life threatening disease, Onchocerciasis causes chronic suffering and severe disability among 18 million people worldwide, of whom 300,000 are irreversibly blind. It is a parasitic disease caused by a parasitic worm (Onchocerca volvulus) that can live in the human body for up to 14 years. The larval forms of these parasitic worms are introduced in the human body, as well as transmitted from a sick person to a healthy one, via the bite of infected blackflies (Simulium) that live and breed in fast flowing rivers because of their highly oxygenated water.

Once the thousands of microfilariae (microscopic larvae) produced by the female worm spread throughout the body and reach the eye they can cause a variety of conditions including serious visual impairment and blindness.

Where?

The disease is mostly encountered in the Western and Central Africa, and to a lesser extent in the Middle East and the Americas.

What are the symptoms?

Aside from being a leading cause of blindness, people suffering from River Blindness experience severe and continuous itching due to the presence of nodules that develop under the skin, causing them to scratch repeatedly. As a result, the damaged skin areas suffer a loss of pigmentation and, over the time, the skin becomes spotty, which causes de-pigmented spots that are more susceptible to skin cancer.