Kampala — Uganda Health Ministry statistics show the incidence of Onchocerciasis (River blindness) have fallen to below 7 % in most parts of the country.

The Senior Entomologist, Mr. Tom Lakwo told a workshop in Kampala that the Ministry of Health had embarked on a move to establish the number of river blindness patients in Uganda.

"In 1996 the incidence was 70% but due to our efforts to curb down the disease, the rate has fallen to 7% this year," Lakwo said. The workshop that run for five days was intended to train community leaders in the most affected districts of Uganda about river blindness and how to detect and treat it. The most endemic districts in the country include Nebbi, Arua and Pader all in the northern part of the country. River blindness is transmitted by the female black flies that breed along river banks. "These flies can even breed far from banks within a distance of 10 Km from the river and still infect individuals," Lakwo said. The Ministry of Health in an effort to fight the scourge has adopted the African Programme for Orchocerciasis Control (APOC) that is intended to alleviate unbearable itching and eliminate disfiguring skin disease, prevent ocular damage and 43,000 cases of blindness annually. The programme will include approaches designed by the community to prevent the disease and how to get the ivermectin drug that treats river blindness reached to the community at no cost.

According to Lakwo, the disease is so serious that by the time an individual is detected to have it, the symptom is blindness and yet by that time a lot of worms spread by the female black fly have bred in the body.

"We have not yet established a drug that cures mature worms in humans so individuals should treat themselves annually to prevent the disease," exclaimed Lakwo.

APOC was started in West Africa in 1995 but has now extended to other parts of Eastern and Southern Africa. By the end of the workshop participants were expected to have in depth understanding of river blindness that that will be used to form village health teams for the sustainability of the programme.