Efforts to combat onchocerciasis, the Third World disease commonly known as river blindness, took a step forward this week when American pharmaceutical giant Merck announced a $1m donation.
The contribution, which involves the company's Mectizan drug, has been made in the same week as World Sight Day, the WHO and IAPB (International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness) campaign.
Bites from blackflies carrying a microscopic worm transmit the disease, and in some villages a person may be bitten more than 10,000 times a day.
An annual dose of Mectizan paralyses the worms, halting the symptoms of the disease and preventing blindness. The donation is spread over a five-year period, with the initial $200,000 beginning in 2005.
The contribution, which involves the company's Mectizan drug, has been made in the same week as World Sight Day, the WHO and IAPB (International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness) campaign.
Bites from blackflies carrying a microscopic worm transmit the disease, and in some villages a person may be bitten more than 10,000 times a day.
An annual dose of Mectizan paralyses the worms, halting the symptoms of the disease and preventing blindness. The donation is spread over a five-year period, with the initial $200,000 beginning in 2005.
Efforts to combat onchocerciasis, the Third World disease commonly known as river blindness, took a step forward this week when American pharmaceutical giant Merck announced a $1m donation. The contribution, which involves the company's Mectizan drug, has been made in the same week as World Sight Day, the WHO and IAPB (International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness) campaign. Bites from blackflies carrying a microscopic worm transmit the disease, and in some villages a person may be bitten more than 10,000 times a day. An annual dose of Mectizan paralyses the worms, halting the symptoms of the disease and preventing blindness. The donation is spread over a five-year period, with the initial $200,000 beginning in 2005.