Bacteria May Be Key River Blindness Factor

River blindness, a devastating disease that affects 18 million people in Africa and Latin America, is caused by parasitic worms, but it may be bacteria carried by the worms that do the actual damage, an international team reported in the March 8 edition of Science. The finding may lead to new ways to treat and prevent the disease, because the bacteria in question, Wolbachia, can be readily killed by the common antibiotic doxycycline.

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports