Understanding Ghanaria (Yaws): History & Treatment

Ghanaria or yaws, caused by the bacterium *Treponema pertenue*, has been successfully eliminated on a global scale due to the extensive efforts carried out during the WHO-led Yaws Eradication Campaign in the mid-20th century. Mass treatment with antibiotics, primarily the use of penicillin, proved highly effective against the yaws bacteria, thus resulting in the effective control, and virtual elimination, of the disease on a global scale.

Hence, while there is no specific cure as such for the disease itself, early diagnosis and timely treatment with appropriate antibiotics, such as penicillin and doxycycline, have rendered ghanaria/yaws a curable disease, no longer posing a substantial threat to public health worldwide.