TRACHOMA

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Context: 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the Government of India has successfully eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem.

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India  has become the third country in the South-East Asia Region to eliminate Trachoma.

Nepal and Myanmar are other two countries from South-East Asia which have eliminated it.

About Trachoma

Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness and is one of the conditions known as neglected tropical diseases.

Trachoma is a bacterial infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. They can be easily treated.

The advanced form of trachoma

As a result of trachoma, the eyelashes eventually get forced into the eye. They come into contact with the eyeball with each blink.

Trichiasis is the term for this more severe type of trachoma. If left untreated, trichiasis might eventually cause blindness.

Reasons and dissemination 

Water scarcity, inadequate sanitation, and fly infestations—which are thought to be the disease's physical carriers—all contribute to the disease's growth.

The frequency

Six nations in the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region are still known to have endemic cases of the disease.

The number of persons in the region who need antibiotic therapy to eradicate trachoma, however, has significantly decreased, going from 39 million in 2013 to 6.9 million in April 2023.

SAFE strategy

The WHO suggests the SAFE method, a comprehensive approach to minimize transmission of the causative organism, clear existing infections, and deal with their sequelae, in order to eradicate trachoma as a public health issue. 

The SAFE strategy includes: 

• Surgery to treat the blinding stage (Trachomatous trichiasis); 
• Antibiotics to clear the infection, particularly the antibiotic azithromycin;
• Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement, particularly improving access to water and sanitation.

Countries that have eliminated Trachoma 

Benin, Cambodia, China, Gambia, Ghana, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Togo, and Vanuatu are the other 17 nations that have eradicated trachoma.

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs): What Are They?

A wide range of tropical infections known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are prevalent among low-income people in developing nations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Numerous pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasitic worms (helminths), are responsible for them.

Why are they called ‘neglected’?

Due to their near-complete absence from the global health agenda, they are referred to as "neglected." Even now, when universal health coverage is the main objective, NTDs have relatively little financing and are mostly disregarded by international funding organizations.

Where are NTDs most prevalent?

NTDs are most prevalent in remote locations, conflict zones, and difficult-to-reach areas. They flourish in places with limited access to sanitary facilities and clean water, which is made worse by climate change. 

Additionally, NTDs typically strike areas with inadequate access to healthcare, making impoverished populations more susceptible to these frequently crippling illnesses and growing dangers.

How can we tackle NTDs?

Addressing NTDs requires cross-sectoral approaches that span from bringing medicines to the ‘end of the road’ thus making “universal health coverage” (UHC) a reality, to relieving the associated mental health burden, to tackling fundamental human rights issues. 

Vector control, veterinary public health and WASH are key complements to interventions targeting humans.

Sources:

PIB

WHO