Yaws eradication will need millions of donated antibiotics, says WHO

World Health Organisation says bacterial skin disease requires drug companies to give large supplies of single-dose tabletsThe World Health Organisation has stepped up efforts to eradicate yaws, described as the "forgotten disease", after the discovery of a single-dose oral antibiotic that can cure it.Wiping out the bacterial skin disease that causes weeping ulcers would, however, depend on whether drug companies were prepared to donate millions of tablets, the WHO said.Untreated, the disease progresses to the bones, causing severe disfigurement and disability. It mainly affects under-15s in poor, remote populations.Only 12 countries – three Pacific islands, eight African countries and Indonesia – are affected by yaws. A global vaccination programme in the 1950s treated more than 300 million people and rid 90 endemic countries of the infectious bacteria.In the remaining endemic countries, up to 10% of children suffer skin ulcers, which suggests that between 40% and 60% have the infection in their bloodstream. These latent cases can become sources of reinfection, said Oriol Mitjà, a technical adviser for the WHO's neglected tropical diseases department who works on the yaws treatment programme in Papua New Guinea."How can we morally justify not using such a simple and inexpensive tool to rid the children of these communities of an infection that causes years of suffering?" he said.The WHO set 2020 as the deadline for the eradication of yaws, and has successfully carried o...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Tags: Pfizer theguardian.com Healthcare industry World news Infectious diseases Pharmaceuticals industry Papua New Guinea Vaccines and immunisation Society Antibiotics Immunology World Health Organisation Vanuatu Global development A Source Type: news