Prof Trees to Deliver McCall Lecture
Professor Sandy Trees
Entitled ‘Human River Blindness, cows and some remarkable bacteria,’ Professor Trees’s lecture will highlight the links between bovine Onchocerciasis and Human River Blindness in sub-Saharan Africa, human and animal health. It will focus on a severely debilitating disease which has been the focus of control efforts for many years. Both the human and bovine diseases are caused by different types of Onchocerca worms and transmitted by blackfly.
“Human River Blindness is not zoonotic, however, the human Onchocerca worm is transmitted by a blackfly species which also feeds on cattle,” says Professor Trees. “This species of blackfly also carries at least one of the several bovine Onchocerca species which can infect cattle.”
Using the bovine infection several key research findings have been made of relevance to Human River Blindness. In particular, tetracycline antibiotic treatment has been found to kill adult Onchocerca worms in cattle. Professor Trees will focus on this discovery and also existing research into the relationship between the host, worms and bacteria, and the implications for controlling Human River Blindness.
Livestock keepers are being urged to stay vigilant for Bluetongue (BTV-3) following confirmation of the disease in a ewe. The case, confirmed in Staffordshire on 23 June 2026, represents the first confirmed case of infection this summer.
