onchocerciasis
/ˌɒŋkəʊsəːˈsʌɪəsɪs
/ /ˌɒŋkəʊsəːˈkʌɪəsɪs/noun
Technical term for river blindness.He wanted to know what was wrong with the six-year-old girl with opaque corneas (probably from the highly prevalent infection onchocerciasis causing ‘river blindness’)....
- Onchocerciasis eliminated from west Africa: Officials from the World Health Organization last week celebrated the elimination of onchocerciasis, or river blindness, as a public health threat in west Africa.
- Both onchocerciasis and malaria were given global priority for eradication, with global, regional, and national commitment in the form of political backing and financial and technical resources.
Origin
Early 20th century: from modern Latin Onchocerca (from Greek onkos 'barb' + kerkos 'tail') + -iasis.