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river blindness

noun
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Definition of river blindness

: onchocerciasis

Examples of river blindness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Since its inception 72 years ago almost to the day, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been credited with the eradication of smallpox and the near eradication of other devastating illnesses, including leprosy and river blindness. — Robert Dean Lurie, National Review, "An Exhilarating Tale of European Auto Racing on the Eve of World War II," 11 Apr. 2020 Seasonality is easiest to understand for diseases spread by insects that thrive during rainy seasons, such as African sleeping sickness, chikungunya, dengue, and river blindness. — Jon Cohen, Science | AAAS, "Why do dozens of diseases wax and wane with the seasons—and will COVID-19?," 13 Mar. 2020 The chimps were infected with hepatitis and river blindness, an eye sickness caused by a parasite, as researchers developed vaccines. — Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, "U.S. lab chimps were dumped on Liberia’s Monkey Island and left to starve. He saved them.," 12 Dec. 2019 The river blindness medication, ivermectin, kills these baby worms effectively. — Brian Rinker, CNN, "New tech revolutionizes fight against ancient diseases in Africa, Asia," 17 Apr. 2018 Earlier studies showed that ivermectin, developed in the 1980s to fight parasites that cause river blindness and elephantitis, turns the blood of patients deadly to mosquitoes a short time after treatment, reported National Public Radio. — Don Sweeney, sacbee, "A pill could make your blood poisonous to mosquitoes, research shows | The Sacramento Bee," 29 Mar. 2018 Cholera, lung cancer and river blindness no longer threaten us. — Jules Julien, Smithsonian, "What Will Our Society Look Like When Artificial Intelligence Is Everywhere?," 21 Mar. 2018 In the 1980s, Merck developed a treatment for river blindness and opted to give it away. — David Gelles, The Seattle Times, "Merck CEO who stood up to Trump speaks out," 25 Feb. 2018 In the 1980s, Merck developed a treatment for river blindness, and opted to give it away. — David Gelles, New York Times, "The C.E.O. Who Stood Up to President Trump: Ken Frazier Speaks Out," 19 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'river blindness.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of river blindness

1952, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for river blindness

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The first known use of river blindness was in 1952

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Cite this Entry

“River blindness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/river%20blindness. Accessed 8 Jul. 2020.

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More Definitions for river blindness

river blindness

noun
riv·​er blindness | \ ˈriv-ər- How to pronounce river blindness (audio) \

Medical Definition of river blindness

: onchocerciasis

More from Merriam-Webster on river blindness

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with river blindness

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about river blindness

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