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Uganda on Road to Eliminate River Blindness

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Uganda on Road to Eliminate River Blindness 8 NEW VISION,Tuesday, April 16, 2013 SPECIAL REPORT Uganda on road to eliminate river blindness PICTURES BY TADDEO BWAMBALE By TADDEO BWAMBALE Success story Studies carried out in 2006 showed Every morning, 70-year-old Fabiano that treatment twice a year and the Olur of Agwechi village in Nebbi killing of black flies could eliminate district sits by the door of his hut the disease within six to 10 years. with strands of sisal dangling from In 2007, against skepticism, his rough fingers. Uganda became the first African Weaving ropes became his sole country to introduce the measure source of livelihood ever since he on a large scale. The results was blinded by Onchocerciasis of Uganda’s approach, now (river blindness) eight years ago. dubbed a success story, show that “It started with bites from flies that transmission of the disease has always hovered around our garden been interrupted in six focus areas on the banks of River Namrwodho. out of the 18 existing ones. My body started itching and later, I These are Wadelai Focus in Nebbi lost my sight,” he narrates. district, Mt. Elgon Focus in Mbale, In 1993, Olur and over 600 people Sironko, Bududa and Manafwa in his village started swallowing districts. The others are Itwara Ivermectin (Mectizan) pills which Focus in Kabarole and Kyenjojo were supplied by the Ministry of districts, Mpamba-Nkusi Focus in Health. Kibaale district, Maracha-Terego “I don’t feel pain anymore, but Focus in Maracha district and I wish this drug could restore my Imaramagambo Focus in Bushenyi sight,” he says. and Mitooma districts. In the neighbouring village of By the end of 2012, the treatment Eseyi in Arua district, residents have of more than 1.3 million people in gathered to receive their doses of those areas had been halted for a Ivermectin. three-year period to observe the A few metres away, scientists progress. from the Ministry of Health and Experts preparing to treat the waters of River Wariki in Arua district to kill the larvae of the black fly According to primary health care the Carter Center comb through a state minister Sarah Opendi, over nearby river for crabs, which carry water. explains Tom Lakwo, the head of Using Ivermectin 1,200 people are safe from infection, larvae of the black fly. After a bite, the larvae enter the the national river blindness control In 1993, the Government started a while 285,131 people now live in A closer scrutiny of the crabs host’s skin, where they slowly grow programme. river blindness control programme areas where transmission has been shows that none of them carries the into adult worms. In Uganda, river blindness is and Ivermectin was distributed to successfully interrupted. worm. This was after a one-month A female worm can produce 1,000 endemic in 35 districts with an the affected communities. Uganda’s target is to eliminate long treatment of the river’s waters worms per day. estimated 1.4 million people This significantly reduced the the disease in the selected focus using tephos, a larvicide. When the worms move into the infected and at least 3.5 million at a prevalence from 70% in 1993 to districts by 2015 and the rest of the upper layers of the host’s skin and risk of infection. below 7% at present. country by 2020. Agonising disease die, they cause skin rashes, intense At least 5,400 people in Kitgum, The drug works by killing the Following Uganda’s success, River blindness is caused by tiny itching and skin de-pigmentation. Lamwo and Pader districts are either larvae of parasites in the human Ethiopia and Nigeria are among worms transmitted by a small black “The worms that move to the eye blind or visually impaired due to body, helping to reverse the itching other African countries that have fly, which breeds in fast-flowing cause severe lesions and blindness,” river blindness. and preventing transmission. recently adopted the model..
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