Awareness appeal

This evening, I was watching the 10 o'clock news on BBC 1 television, when a report came on about an obscure disease which afflicts people in Africa. It is called elephantiasis; its medical name is Lymphatic filariasis or LF.

LF is caused by a parasite, carried by mosquitoes. When the mosquito bites a human being, the parasite is transmitted into the body. These migrate into the lymphatic system. They then upset the fluidbalance within the body, leading to gross disfigurement.

The news report showed a lady's foot, swollen to several times its normal size, and a man's scrotum, swollen to the size of a lemon.

The disease is not fatal, but destroys quality of life. The lady I mentioned above could not walk very far. LF is eminently treatable through a course of medicines. These are provided free of charge to those countries that ask for them. 82 of the world's poorest nations are affected by LF, with 120 million people. The problem lies in the logistics of bringing the medicines to the people that need them.

It is the objective to eradicate this disease by 2020, in just under 15 years' time. An effort needs to be made to make this happen.

Read the report, which is available on the BBC News website. If you are in touch with any person or organisation that can help, please relay this message.
I copy the final paragraph of the news report below:

Professor Johnny Gyapong, from the Ghana Health Service, is in charge of the treatment programme. He said that with concerted international action LF could be eradicated. The drugs were available, it was simply a question of prioritisation.

"Lymphatic filariasis is largely a hidden and neglected disease, but with grave socio-economic effects. It is my view that the media has a role to inform, educate and communicate the appropriate messages relating to the disease, because the condition is manageable. So if we put our resources together and get our act together, it is possible that at least we get one disease off the list of manydiseases that are troubling the underdeveloped world."