$7 million grant aids efforts to eliminate neglected tropical diseases​
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at eliminating river blindness and elephantiasis, two neglected tropical diseases that annually sicken millions.
Funding aids new test for ‘river blindness’
The neglected tropical disease known as river blindness is caused by the parasitic worm O. volvulus, pictured, and is spread by the bites of black flies that breed in fast-flowing rivers. Washington University scientists have received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop an improved diagnostic test for the disease, which is most common in sub-Saharan Africa.
WUSTL receives $13 million Gates Foundation global health grant toward elimination of tropical diseases
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a five-year, $13 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve efforts to eliminate two parasitic diseases, elephantiasis and river blindness. The award is believed to be the largest global health grant so far to the University.