Public health officials at the 20th Inter-American Conference on Onchocerciasis in Antigua, Guatemala, confirmed that more than one-third of all Latin Americans who ran the risk of contracting river blindness (onchocerciasis), a leading cause of preventable blindness, are no longer at risk.
Officials attribute the successes in Latin America to a sustained public-private partnership led by the Carter Center that offers drug treatment and health education. The Carter Center – through its sponsorship of the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas (OEPA) – assists national ministries of health in six affected countries in Latin America to conduct health education and distribute Mectizan® (ivermectin), donated by Merck & Co., Inc.
Read Merck's full press release (PDF) >
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