MicrobeWorld

Dogged education and distribution of an anti-parasitic drug have virtually eradicated river blindness in badly affected parts of Guatemala, researchers reported on Monday. And a second study showed that treating family members with antibiotics helped stop the spread of trachoma, another common cause of blindness. The two studies in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases show it is possible to end the misery caused by common but not usually fatal diseases, the researchers said.