Trachoma Can Cause Irreversible Blindness: Know More

Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease that is responsible for blindness or visual impairment in about 1.9 million people globally.

A leading cause of blindness worldwide, trachoma is an infectious disease of the eye caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. The infection is transmitted from person to person through contact with respiratory discharges (eyes or nose) from an infected person, either through contaminated hands or by flies. Trachoma transmission is commonly associated with poor hygiene, overcrowded households, inadequate access to water or improper sanitation facilities. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set a target for global elimination of trachoma by 2030.

As of June 2022, trachoma remains a public health problem in 41 countries, with about 125 million people at risk of trachoma blindness, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). People living in the poorest and most rural areas of Africa, Central and South America, Asia, the Western Pacific and the Middle East are mainly affected by the disease. The WHO African Region accounts for 84 per cent of the global trachoma burden, with 105 million people living in at-risk areas.

Trachoma in WHO’s African Region

Benin and Mali recently received WHO validation for trachoma elimination, becoming the fifth and sixth countries in the WHO’s African Region to achieve this significant milestone, after Ghana, Gambia, Togo, Malawi. Over the past few years, there has been significant progress in the fight against trachoma in the WHO’s African Region. Antibiotic treatment for trachoma was required for 105 million people in the WHO African Region in 2022, as compared to 189 million in 2014, according to WHO report. But trachoma is still endemic in 23 countries in WHO’s African Region.

So far, 17 countries have been able to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. These are Cambodia, China, the Gambia, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Vanuatu, Benin and Mali.

Trachoma symptoms and complications

Trachoma can cause irreversible blindness. The bacterial infection is the cause of blindness or visual impairment in about 1.9 million people globally, as per WHO.

In 2021, over 69000 people required surgical treatment for advanced stage trachoma while more than 64 million people were treated with antibiotics.