The River Blindness Eradication Program
August 12, 2016 1:34 PM Subscribe
How Worm Warriors Are Beating An Unbeatable Worm When the program began, in some areas the disease was so widespread that riverbank communities had been abandoned, he says. Now, "people are suffering less," and people and agriculture have returned to areas where the disease was eliminated. (TW: Graphic medical descriptions.)
Unfortunately, life very often finds a way. Guinea worm has jumped species and is now being found in dogs, complicating the efforts to eradicate it and two recent cases of wild polio means that disease cannot be considered wiped out either. So, efforts to eradicate River Blindness will likely see some hiccups along the way as well.
Unfortunately, life very often finds a way. Guinea worm has jumped species and is now being found in dogs, complicating the efforts to eradicate it and two recent cases of wild polio means that disease cannot be considered wiped out either. So, efforts to eradicate River Blindness will likely see some hiccups along the way as well.
Dang. Some people are just born with a deck stacked from the get go. I didn't wake up this morning thanking my lucky stars for plentiful clean water, but I'm going to run the faucet and do so right now. Such a simple thing that I take for granted.
Heroes! Those folks are heroes.
posted by BlueHorse at 2:49 PM on August 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Heroes! Those folks are heroes.
posted by BlueHorse at 2:49 PM on August 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Still, this is tremendous progress.
posted by shoesietart at 4:28 PM on August 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by shoesietart at 4:28 PM on August 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Holy crap, I hope they figure out the way the guinea worm has been infecting dogs in Chad, and that the worm hasn't made the jump in other places. The worm that causes river blindness sounds horrific. Itching x100 on top of it all! And learned today there's a difference between vaccine polio and wild polio. Huh.
Great work by the Carter Center. I know about these diseases because of their campaigns.
posted by one teak forest at 5:07 PM on August 12, 2016
Great work by the Carter Center. I know about these diseases because of their campaigns.
posted by one teak forest at 5:07 PM on August 12, 2016
So many twists and turns, clever solutions, desperate solutions, human drama, tensions, tough calls, violence, heroism, unexpected setbacks... I can't help but think these real-world eradication efforts would work really really well with the Hollywood blockbuster treatment that's normally given to sci-fi, or a "The Hurt Locker" mostly-based-on-real-events sort of film.
(Or we could just re-re-remake Spiderman again and again out of fear of trying new things)
posted by -harlequin- at 5:49 PM on August 12, 2016
(Or we could just re-re-remake Spiderman again and again out of fear of trying new things)
posted by -harlequin- at 5:49 PM on August 12, 2016
So many twists and turns, clever solutions, desperate solutions, human drama, tensions, tough calls, violence, heroism, unexpected setbacks... I can't help but think these real-world eradication efforts would work really really well with the Hollywood blockbuster treatment that's normally given to sci-fi, or a "The Hurt Locker" mostly-based-on-real-events sort of film.
For truth. I often work with an organization involved in polio eradication in Pakistan, where vaccinators routinely get attacked and killed. They do this for tiny salaries which can be delayed for months at a time. They are both women and men, in some of the most conservative areas of the world. I've met some of the people working in really difficult areas, such as Taliban strongholds, and listened to why they do what they do: many of them have seen the ravages of polio and other diseases, such as measles, in impoverished health-poor communities first hand, so they have incredible commitment to their task in the most difficult circumstances. For many of the women, there is also a recognition that this is a way for them to serve their communities and demonstrate that they are as important contributors outside the home as they are inside. They are true heroes.
And learned today there's a difference between vaccine polio and wild polio. Huh.
Yes, and this is why as countries become polio free, there is a shift from oral vaccination (more effective, but also prone to causing vaccine-induced polio) towards inactivated polio vaccine administered as part of the routine immunisation every child is supposed to receive.
It's also worth noting the difference between eradication - what happened to smallpox and will eventually happen to polio, ie achieving 0 cases worldwide, and elimination - the aim for maternal and neonatal tetanus and, I believe, river blindness, ie achieving 0 or a defined small number of cases in particular geographical areas.
(edited for sloppy phrasing)
posted by tavegyl at 6:50 PM on August 12, 2016 [6 favorites]
For truth. I often work with an organization involved in polio eradication in Pakistan, where vaccinators routinely get attacked and killed. They do this for tiny salaries which can be delayed for months at a time. They are both women and men, in some of the most conservative areas of the world. I've met some of the people working in really difficult areas, such as Taliban strongholds, and listened to why they do what they do: many of them have seen the ravages of polio and other diseases, such as measles, in impoverished health-poor communities first hand, so they have incredible commitment to their task in the most difficult circumstances. For many of the women, there is also a recognition that this is a way for them to serve their communities and demonstrate that they are as important contributors outside the home as they are inside. They are true heroes.
And learned today there's a difference between vaccine polio and wild polio. Huh.
Yes, and this is why as countries become polio free, there is a shift from oral vaccination (more effective, but also prone to causing vaccine-induced polio) towards inactivated polio vaccine administered as part of the routine immunisation every child is supposed to receive.
It's also worth noting the difference between eradication - what happened to smallpox and will eventually happen to polio, ie achieving 0 cases worldwide, and elimination - the aim for maternal and neonatal tetanus and, I believe, river blindness, ie achieving 0 or a defined small number of cases in particular geographical areas.
(edited for sloppy phrasing)
posted by tavegyl at 6:50 PM on August 12, 2016 [6 favorites]
Michele in California: " two recent cases of wild polio"
I confused Polio with Small Pox there for a second and was in a full panic Whaa! until I read the link.
posted by Mitheral at 11:11 PM on August 12, 2016
I confused Polio with Small Pox there for a second and was in a full panic Whaa! until I read the link.
posted by Mitheral at 11:11 PM on August 12, 2016
So, Bush family, what good works are you doing post-presidency? (Painting self-portraits in the bathtub doesn't count.)
posted by TedW at 3:41 AM on August 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by TedW at 3:41 AM on August 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Carter is from Georgia. Same place that is the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity.
Just sayin'.
posted by Michele in California at 10:19 AM on August 13, 2016
Just sayin'.
posted by Michele in California at 10:19 AM on August 13, 2016
The Carter Center: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope.
posted by storybored at 11:28 AM on August 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by storybored at 11:28 AM on August 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
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