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Articles on River blindness

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While ivermectin was originally used to treat river blindness, it has also been repurposed to treat other human parasitic infections. ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images

Ivermectin is a Nobel Prize-winning wonder drug – but not for COVID-19

Ivermectin has been a lifesaving drug for people with parasitic infections like river blindness and strongyloidiasis. But taking it for COVID-19 may result in the opposite effect.
Some tropical diseases can be treated with very inexpensive daily treatments yet remain common. Avatar_023/Shutterstock.com

Why aren’t we curing the world’s most curable diseases?

A cure for many tropical diseases was discovered 30 years ago this month. The drug is donated by its manufacturer. Why are we still dealing with neglected tropical diseases?
A father reads to his son while sitting under a mosquito net. Mosquitoes have undergone evolutionary changes due to long-lasting insecticide-treated nets. Georgina Goodwin and Vestergaard Frandsen

Why evolution must be at the centre of fighting parasitic infections

Although there have been global efforts to eliminate parasites, some parasites and vectors will have survived attack because they have evolved resistance.
Tanzanian Seif Ramadhan is washed before being treated for elephantiasis. Khalfan Said/EPA

How 2015 Nobel Prize drug might rid Africa of ancient scourges

The drug that led to two scientists wining the Nobel Prize for Physiology or medicine has made a significant difference for those suffering from elephantiasis and river blindness.

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