River blindness is actually a phrase coined by our founder the late Sir John Wilson, when he travelled to West Africa in the 1950s. Its official name is onchocerciasis.River blindness is caused by a parasitical worm,onchocerca volvulus. The worm larvae are spread by the black simulium fly, which breed by the oxygen rich water of fast flowing rivers. The fly transmits the disease when it bites people, making those who live or work near the rivers vulnerable.Around 37 million people are currently infected with river blindness, and roughly 300,000 of them are already irreversibly blind. Approximately 140 million people in Africa are at risk of infection.
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