Eye of the Eagle, Vol. 23, No. 1 ~ Free Health Guide

Thursday, 10 March 2022

Eye of the Eagle, Vol. 23, No. 1

Published by The Carter Center, Eye of the Eagle provides news and technical information about river blindness and trachoma intervention activities.
Read this edition or browse past editions.

Brazil, Venezuela Share Achievements at IACO 2021

Brazil and Venezuela are using data and creativity to illuminate the shortest path to river blindness transmission elimination in the dense Amazon Rainforest, the last remaining area of active transmission in the Americas. The countries reported progress at the 31st InterAmerican Conference on Onchocerciasis (IACO), held virtually Nov. 3–4, 2021. The conference included participants from current and formerly endemic country programs, The Carter Center and its Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas, donors, and other partner institutions. Meeting participants discussed progress, challenges, and novel solutions to achieve transmission elimination in the Yanomami Focus Area.

Read the full article on page two »

Residents in Uganda Discuss Strides Made in Their District

Moyo district in Uganda’s Madi-Mid North focus has come a long way in its fight against river blindness. Fred Matalocu, 65, is old enough to remember how river blindness once devastated his community. Because of the itching, vision loss, and skin damage caused by the infection, people had to avoid farming near the rivers and the many other small streams in the area. And it affected him directly. After 28 years of treatments with Mectizan® (donated by Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA), the entire Madi-Mid North focus has reached the status of “transmission interruption suspected” — a major step toward eventual elimination.

Read the full article on page three »

Graders at Gondar Center Use Photos to Diagnose Trachoma

While trachoma is most found in rural communities, the fight against the disease also takes place in a small, dark room on the campus of the University of Gondar in Ethiopia. Researchers at the Gondar Grading Center (GGC), viewing photographic images of the inner eyelid, are helping the Trachoma Control Program in Amhara and international academic institutions better understand the symptoms and characteristics of trachoma in the region, the country, and across Africa.

Read the full article on page eight »