Business leader and philanthropist John J. Moores has contributed 4 million to the Scripps Research Institute, world’s largest independent and non-profit biomedical research organisation based at La Jolla California, U.S.A.

The donation will be used to establish the ‘Worm Institute for Research and Medicine’ (W.I.R.M.), within the Scripps Institute that will combat parasitic worms, which cause river blindness and many other diseases around the world.

“Although parasitic worms are uncommon in the developed world, they are a major scourge for millions of impoverished people in the developing world. Hopefully (the institute) will be able to bring its considerable expertise to this difficult and demanding area,” said Moores.

River blindness or onchocerciasis is so called because it occurs in areas close to fast flowing water, where the black flies that transmits the parasite like to lay their eggs.

When the black fly bites a person suffering from river blindness, it absorbs microscopic worms residing in that person's skin, then when it bites another person, worm larvae may be left behind to infect this new host. The worms cause lesions and massive inflammation in the eyes of the infected person, leading to vision problems and blindness.

River blindness can be treated with effective drugs. However, there is a need to find ways to detect the worms in the field to help public health efforts to curtail new infection.

According to the W.H.O., some 18 million people in 35 countries are infected with the worm that causes river blindness, and about half a million are blinded by their infection. Ninety-nine per cent cases of river blindness are found in Afri