River Blindness Black Flies

16 november 2017 geneva the world health organization who has welcomed the launch of a us 100 million dollar fund to accelerate the elimination of two devastating infectious neglected tropical diseases diseases onchocerciasis river blindness and lymphatic filariasis elephantiasis.
River blindness black flies. 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. The parasite lives on human skin and is transmitted to the black fly during feeding. Onchocerciasis known as river blindness and mansonellosis. It causes severe skin irritation itching and eventually irreversible blindness.
Onchocerciasis also known as river blindness is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm onchocerca volvulus. If a blackfly bites an infected person onchocerciasis larvae can be ingested by the blackfly after which they migrate to the flight muscles. River blindness or onchocerciasis is a parasitic infection spread by flies that live near fast flowing rivers. It is the second most common cause of blindness due to infection after trachoma.
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. It is transmitted through repeated bites by blackflies of the genus simulium. River blindness onchocherciasis is an eye and skin disease caused by the worms of the black fly. The parasite worm is spread by the bites of a black fly of the simulium type.
The female worm transmitted by the black fly will produce thousands of baby worms who will migrate into the eye of the victim causing blindness and eye sight problems. Symptoms include severe itching bumps under the skin and blindness. What is river blindness. Onchocerciasis or river blindness is a neglected tropical disease ntd caused by the parasitic worm onchocerca volvulus.
It serves as the larval host for the nematode and acts as the vector by which the disease is spread. In africa central america and south america black flies can transmit two diseases to humans. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of a blackfly simulium species. The larvae develop inside the blackfly and become infective for humans in about one week.
It is transmitted by the repeated bite of black flies carrying the parasite that live on the banks of fast flowing rivers and streams. Black flies are central to the transmission of the parasitic nematode onchocerca volvulus which causes onchocerciasis or river blindness. Black flies live and reproduce near fast flowing rivers and streams putting communities who live near rivers at risk. River blindness also known as onchocerciasis is an eye and skin infection caused by parasitic worms.