Vaccine for Vision Scourge Nearing Completion

"The world's first vaccine for a disease that causes misery for millions in Africa could be tested within five years," notes Medical News Today. "Researchers have taken a major step towards developing a vaccine against river blindness, also known as onchocerciasis, which affects an estimated 17 million people throughout the world. More than 90 per cent of cases of river blindness - listed by The World Health Organization as a neglected tropical disease - occur in west and central Africa. River blindness is a caused by infection with the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus and is spread by blackflies that breed in rivers." Read more.

Scientists Find Cause of River Blindness

"Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that the worm which causes River Blindness survives by using a bacterium to provide energy, as well as help ‘trick’ the body’s immune system into thinking it is fighting a different kind of infection," reports Midwest Lens. "River Blindness affects 37 million people, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, causing intense itching of the skin, visual impairment and in severe cases, irreversible blindness. It is caused by a parasitic worm that is transmitted by blood-feeding blackflies, which breed in fast-flowing rivers." Read more.