Just thought you'd like some good news

The March 16 Toronto Star reports that an alliance including 80 health ministries, two drug companies, UNICEF, and the World Bank, intended to

rid the world of elephantiasis, one of the most disfiguring and disabling tropical diseases, has already had remarkable success in 37 countries, says a new report.

The alliance, headed by the World Health Organization, has led to the "fastest ramp up of a global public health program in history," and the disease could be eliminated in 20 years, according to the report, released today on the eve of the alliance's third annual meeting in Cairo.

Already, more than 80 million people, including 30 million children, have been treated for lymphatic filariasis (LF), which in its final stages causes elephantiasis, a horrible swelling of arms, legs and genitals.

The disease is caused by a mosquito-borne parasitic worm that invades the lymphatic system.

Footnote: If you go to the link, there is one mistake in the article; it says that John Merrick, the "elephant man," suffered from elephantiasis. He didn't. It was formerly believed that he suffered from neurofibromatosis, but it's now believed that he actually had Proteus Syndrome.