Bill Gates donates dollar 20 million to eliminate filariasis
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

WASHINGTON, FEB 2: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today said it will donate dollar 20 million to a World Bank programme to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), also known as Elephantiasis.

Of the 120 mllion people infected in the world by the disease, one-third live in India, one-third in Africa and the remainder in South Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.

An additional 1.2 billion people are believed to be at the risk of infection.

Drug companies including Glaxo Smith-Kline and Merck have offered to donate medicines for the programme.

The Gates Foundation, which has some 21 billion dollars, has previously provided grants for the fight against polio, AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

``LF is a painful and profoundly disfiguring disease caused by a parasitic worm that rides in the lymphatic system of humans. It is transmitted by the bite of mosquitos,'' the World Bank, welcoming the donation, said in a release.

Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.