P. YAWS

Yaws, though not a veneral disease, is caused by a spirochete similar to that of syphilis. Found primarily in underdeveloped countries, the disease is associated with a low standard of living and poor sanitation. The highest prevalence occurs in a worldwide belt extending 15 degrees on either side of the Equator, although it is also found in Central America and the West Indies, in northern India and Burma, in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, and in the Philippines. Yaws occurs most frequently in areas of very high humidity with an annual average temperature of 80 degrees.

An estimated 50 million cases are believed to exist today. In rural areas of some countries the extent of infection may be 10 to 30 times greater than available statistics would indicate. The disease is highly disfiguring, decreases the potentiality for productive work, and begins to take its toll in early childhood.

The eradication of yaws has been a major objective of many national governments with aid from the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization. Programs using mass examination and penicillin therapy techniques are in various stages of completion in Haiti, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, and in West Africa and the Pacific Islands.