WHO to re-focus on the eradication of yaws disease

The World Health Organization says insufficient surveillance over the past 40 years has led to the re-emergence of yaws disease in rural marginalized populations in Africa, Asia and South America. The illness leads to the destruction of skin, cartilage and bone, often leaving victims disfigured and susceptible to other infections.

The condition, which is caused by the penetration of bacterial spirochetes into cuts and abrasions in the skin, was virtually eradicated by the WHO's global control program that ran from 1952 to 1964, that saw 300 million people worldwide receive preventative treatment. Today, however, the incidence of the disease is increasing, with more than 500,000 individuals around the world thought to be infected.

The WHO's director of neglected tropical diseases, Lorenzo Savioli, said that "the persistence of yaws in the 21st century is unacceptable," explaining that it can be successfully treated with a long-acting dose of penicillin that costs as little as $0.32 per person. Dr Sovioli added that current research suggests that the disease could eventually be eradicated by a global treatment effort because humans are the only natural reservoir for the infection.