Tonga eliminates elephantiasis

686 Views

The Kingdom of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean may be small in population, but it is kicking big goals in public health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has validated that the country has eliminated lymphatic filariasis – also known as elephantiasis – as a public health problem. Lymphatic filariasis is a mosquito-borne disease that damages the lymphatic system, leading to ...

Volcanic soils, not worms, causing elephantiasis in Uganda, says study

883 Views

A puzzling surge in western Uganda patients diagnosed with a painful, disfiguring skin condition known as elephantiasis was caused not by the parasitic worms typically associated with the affliction, but by long-term exposure to irritating soil minerals absorbed while walking barefoot, according to a new study published on Monday, April 10, 2017 in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. ...

Scientists who developed malaria, elephantiasis drugs win Nobel prize for medicine

884 Views

Three scientists from Japan, China and Ireland whose discoveries led to the development of potent new drugs against parasitic diseases, including malaria and elephantiasis, won the Nobel Prize for Medicine on Monday. Irish-born William Campbell and Japan’s Satoshi Omura won half of the prize for discovering avermectin, a derivative of which has been used to treat hundreds of millions of people ...