Onchocerciasis in Latin America - 4810 Words

Eliminating River Blindness in Ecuador You notice a figure sitting on a porch in the North-Western region of Ecuador. As you approach it appears to be an elderly man but as you approach him you notice that he has features that you have never seen before. His skin looks as if it has been draped onto his skeletal frame causing him to lose all age indicators. Your eyes reach his and he does not make eye contact, a clear indication that he is blind. You approach the lizard man and ask his age, he replies â€Å"Cuarenta y tres.† You wonder to yourself how could a man who is 43 years old have lost his vision and aged so prematurely? The simple answer is Onchocerciasis or more commonly known as River Blindness. Desowitz (1981) discusses the†¦show more content†¦Nine months after the female worm mates it begins producing the eggs that will be digested by the vector and continue the cycle. Figure Two: Simulium Black Fly Figure Three: Parasite Maturation in Fly adapted from bumblebee.org (1997) adapted from Desowitz 1981, p. 94 Once inside the human the worms begin to create nodules within the human’s skin. These nodules are obstructions causing bumps and lacerations beneath the skins surface. As the eggs are released they begin to travel throughout the subcutaneous layer of the host’s skin (Figure 4) causing their immune system to react (Gonzales et al. 2009), this reaction causes the bodily mutilation that is associated with river blindness. The disease may range mild (dermatitis) to severe (visual impairment and blindness). Figure 4: Layers of Human Skin Bupas Health Information Team (September 2010) Once the immune system reacts to the parasitic egg the victim’s skin becomes inflamed causing extreme itching. This severe itching has been known to cause some to commit suicide. This migration causes the once normal human skin to become thick and depigmented resembling and feeling like that of an elephants (pachyderm) skin. Figure 5 is a picture from the Neglected Tropical Disease website (2010) which shows â€Å"a Ugandan man suffering from [river blindness]. [The picture] shows the inflammation and de-pigmentation the condition isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Merck and Co., River Blindness1531 Words   |  7 Pagesoff this core value, Merck and Co. should be more inclined to create the drug despite the seeming lack of profit. Aspects that had led to the quandary are the lack of profit and the pressure of the ethical qualm of creating a helpful drug. â€Å"Onchocerciasis is a parasitic disease caused by the filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus. It is transmitted through the bites of infected blackflies of Simulium species, which carry immature larval forms of the parasite from human to human. In the human bodyRead MoreMerck and River Blindness2246 Words   |  9 PagesSection 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Section 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Section 1: Introduction and Situational Analysis Onchocerciasis, known as river blindness, is caused by parasitic worms that live in the small black flies that breed in and about fast-moving rivers in developing countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The disease, if untreated causes extreme discomfort and eventually, blindness. In 1978, the World Health Organization estimated that overRead MoreGlaxosmithkline18561 Words   |  75 PagesVaccine Initiative Non-Governmental Organization Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Over-the-counter (drugs) Pan-American Health Organisation Program for Appropriate Technology in Health Pharmaceutial Research and Manufacturers of America Roll Back Malaria Tuberculosis Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights United Nations Children’s Fund United States Trade Representative World Health Organization World Trade Organization GlaxoSmithKline company profile 5 Introduction