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Nicole Brown
LCIF Communications Manager
630-468-6887
nicole.brown@lionsclubs.org

For Immediate Release

Colombia First Country to Eliminate Transmission of the Tropical Disease Onchocerciasis; Milestones Reached in Guatemala and Ecuador

Quito, Ecuador, November 15, 2007– Public health officials gathering at the 17th Inter-American Conference on Onchocerciasis (IACO) in Quito, Ecuador, today announced that transmission of the tropical disease onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) has been halted in Colombia, marking the first time that the disease has been eliminated as a public health problem on a country-wide basis. 

Lions Clubs International Foundation plays a role in the program, with Lions helping distribute the medication and informing the local community on the need to take the medication as directed. LCIF is a member organization of the donation program, and the program is a SightFirst priority.

"Colombia’s successful effort in halting onchocerciasis transmission is a landmark achievement in public health," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, founder of The Carter Center. "This remarkable progress would not be possible without the dedicated health workers and volunteers working at the community level and the invaluable public-private partnership with Merck and the Mectizan Donation Program. Because of this vital collaboration, millions of lives in Africa and the Americas will improve and continued progress can be made to wipe this debilitating disease from the hemisphere.”

Health officials also announced that onchocerciasis transmission has been halted in certain endemic areas in Ecuador and Guatemala due to the effectiveness of treatment with Mectizan® (ivermectin). Officials also confirmed that new cases of eye disease caused by onchocerciasis have been eliminated in 9 of the 13 foci in the Americas where it was endemic and all new cases of blindness have been halted in all 13 foci.

Onchocerciasis, one of the leading causes of preventable blindness worldwide, is transmitted through the bite of black flies and can cause intense itching, disfiguring dermatitis, eye lesions and, over time, blindness. It is hyper-endemic in 33 countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and isolated areas of Central and South America, and Yemen.

Announcements Give Hope to Other Countries
"This is the first time in history that we can confirm that transmission of the disease has been stopped on a country level by means of mass treatment," said Dr. Bjorn Thylefors, Director of the MECTIZAN Donation Program Secretariat. 

Colombia's Ministry of Health made today's announcement based on epidemiological studies conducted by the Colombian onchocerciasis program and the Carter Center’s Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas (OEPA), which showed that onchocerciasis infection levels had been maintained at a level low enough to effectively break the cycle of transmission. The program attributed the results to the strategy of twice-annual mass treatment with Mectizan. Based on these findings, experts from the Program Coordinating Committee of OEPA recommended that treatment with Mectizan should be suspended. The World Health Organization (WHO) will certify the elimination of onchocerciasis following this announcement by the Colombian Ministry of Health.

Health officials from Guatemala and Ecuador also announced today that treatment with Mectizan would stop in 2008 in the Escuintla, Guatemala, and Rio Santiago, Ecuador, regions.

Since 1989, more than 7.5 million treatments of Mectizan have been approved for distribution in Latin America by community health workers and non-governmental organizations. Treatment programs exist in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela. Lions Clubs International Foundation is a partner in the program in Latin America with The Carter Center, Christian Blind Mission International, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the WHO / Pan American Health Organization, and local Ministries of Health.

To date, more than 530 million treatments for onchocerciasis have been provided to 33 countries in Africa, Latin America and Yemen. The program currently reaches more than 69 million people each year for the treatment of onchocerciasis.

Lions Clubs International Foundation provides grant funding to Lions districts for large-scale humanitarian projects too extensive for Lions to finance on their own. LCIF is the charitable arm of Lions Clubs International, the largest service club organization in the world with 1.3 million members in 200 geographic areas and countries. The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. LCIF was recently ranked the number one NGO in a Financial Times study. Through LCIF, Lions ease pain and suffering and bring healing and hope to people worldwide. For more information, visit www.lcif.org.