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onchocerciasis

onchocerciasis

9.9
A disease from tiny worms that spread by black fly bites, making skin itchy and causing blindness
  • noun
  • /ˌɒŋkəʊsərˈkaɪəsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : oncocercosis
  • The treatment for onchocerciasis can significantly reduce the risk of blindness caused by this disease.
  • onchocerciasis, or river blindness

Examples

  • Efforts to combat onchocerciasis have resulted in improved health and well-being for affected communities.

  • They also experienced higher rates of intestinal parasites, onchocerciasis, and yellow fever.

    Academic text (2012)
  • A rural newsletter is published biannually, and the project has recently expanded to include treatment for onchocerciasis (river blindness).

    Academic text (1993)
  • Other forms of infectious uveitis, such as onchocerciasis, leprosy, and tuberculosis, are inextricably bound up with altered immune responses to foreign antigens.

    Academic text (1991)
  • At least three infectious diseases common in Africa are treated with mass administration of drugs that have been donated by the manufacturer: albendazole for filariasis, ivermectin for onchocerciasis, and azithromycin for trachoma.

    Academic text (2003)
  • In addition to malaria, SNEM has monitored and controlled Chagas disease, dengue fever, onchocerciasis, yellow fever (in Amazonia), and leishmaniasis in Ecuador (13).

    Academic text (2012)
  • In many regions, onchocerciasis is a major concern as it leads to numerous health issues, including potential blindness.

Synonyms

river blindness
vsonchocerciasis
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A disease caused by a tiny worm spread by black flies that makes skin very itchy and causes blindness

is the medical term for the same blackfly transmitted disease

Surface Forms

onchocerciasis singular

Morphology

onchocerciasis = Onchocerca (opaque) = onchocerca + iasis

Formed from the scientific genus name Onchocerca plus the medical suffix '-iasis'; the components are specialized combining forms and are not meaningful to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Onchocerciasis comes from the name of the worm Onchocerca that causes the illness; that worm name is built from Greek parts oncho- 'hook' and -cerca 'tail', because the thin worm looks a bit like a hooked tail. The ending -iasis means 'disease', so onchocerciasis is the 'disease of the hook-tail' worm, the illness that can affect skin and eyes and is often called river blindness.