India has been praised by the World Health Organization for successfully eradicating trachoma, a bacterial eye infection that can cause blindness. This achievement makes India the fourth country in Southeast Asia to eliminate the disease.
What is trachoma?
Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease caused by infection with the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. The disease, if left untreated, can cause irreversible blindness. “The World Health Organization Regional Office for Southeast Asia considers it a great honor to declare that the Government of India has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem by 2024,” reads a quote from the WHO. “India’s success is due to the strong leadership of its Government,” said Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for Southeast Asia. The Regional Director also praised the commitment of ophthalmologists and other teams of health workers who ensured “effective surveillance, diagnosis and treatment of active trachoma, provision of surgical services for trichiasis and promotion of water, sanitation and hygiene, particularly facial cleansing. between communities.”
Wazed also presented a plaque and citation to India at the ‘Public Health Awards’ event at the Seventy-Seventh Session of the Regional Committee held in the national capital. In the 1950s and 1960s, India was known to be endemic for trachoma. Currently, there is no recent evidence on the magnitude of trachoma and related blindness in India, according to the Health Ministry survey.
The Union government had declared the country free of infectious trachoma and active trachoma in children. Results from the National Trachoma Prevalence Surveys and Trachoma Rapid Assessment Surveys conducted between 2014 and 2017 showed that the overall prevalence of active trachoma was 0.7 percent. However, the WHO had not yet declared India trachoma-free. According to the WHO, the prevalence of trachoma should be less than 5 percent to be considered eliminated.
In 2023, AIIMS started a study in collaboration with the global health body to determine the existing trachoma cases in North India. In its initial study, AIIMS observed that the prevalence of trachoma was around 3.5 per cent.
Trachoma, a very painful disease, causes blurred vision, red and swollen eyes, pain when blinking or sleeping, and vision loss. It can be transmitted from person to person through contaminated fingers, fomites, and flies that have come into contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. Poor hygiene, overcrowded homes, and inadequate access to water and sanitation are environmental risk factors for trachoma transmission. To eliminate trachoma as a public health problem, the WHO recommends the SAFE strategy: surgery for trichiasis, antibiotics to eliminate the infection, and facial cleansing and environmental improvements to reduce transmission.
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It is a comprehensive approach to reduce transmission of the causative organism, eliminate existing infections and address their effects. The elimination of trachoma is part of the WHO’s roadmap on neglected tropical diseases 2021-2030, which aims to prevent, control, eliminate and eradicate 20 diseases and disease groups by 2030.
Meanwhile, Wazed also congratulated Bhutan for achieving interim targets for the elimination of cervical cancer; Timor-Leste to eliminate lymphatic filariasis; Maldives and Sri Lanka for the control of hepatitis B in children; and six countries to achieve the SDGs and global targets to reduce under-five mortality and stillbirth rates. He presented a plaque and a citation to each Member State for their achievements at the ‘Public Health Awards’ event at the Seventy-Seventh Session of the Regional Committee held in the national capital.
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