WHO Trachoma Fact sheet, April 2017

WHO Trachoma Fact sheet, April 2017.

Key facts

• Trachoma is a disease of the eye caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.
• It is known to be a public health problem in 42 countries, and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. Nearly 182 million people live in trachoma endemic areas and are at risk of trachoma blindness.
• Blindness from trachoma is irreversible.
• Infection spreads through personal contact (via hands, clothes or bedding) and by flies that have been in contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. With repeated episodes of infection over many years, the eyelashes may be drawn in so that they rub on the surface of the eye, with pain and discomfort and permanent damage to the cornea.
• The World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA51.11 in 1998, targeting the global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.
• The elimination strategy is encapsulated by the acronym “SAFE”: Surgery for advanced disease, Antibiotics to clear C. trachomatis infection, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to reduce transmission.
• In 2016, more than 260 000 people received surgical treatment for advanced trachoma, and 86 million people were treated with antibiotics. Global-level antibiotic coverage was 47%, a considerable increase compared to the 29% coverage achieved in 2015.

Active trachoma and community use of sanitation, Ethiopia

Active trachoma and community use of sanitation, Ethiopia. WHO Bulletin, April 2017.

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Objective – To investigate, in Amhara, Ethiopia, the association between prevalence of active trachoma among children aged 1–9 years and community sanitation usage.

Methods – Between 2011 and 2014, prevalence of trachoma and household pit latrine usage were measured in five population-based cross-sectional surveys.

Data on observed indicators of latrine use were aggregated into a measure of community sanitation usage calculated as the proportion of households with a latrine in use. 

All household members were examined for clinical signs, i.e. trachomatous inflammation, follicular and/or intense, indicative of active trachoma.

Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate prevalence odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for community, household and individual factors, and to evaluate modification by household latrine use and water access.

Findings – In surveyed areas, prevalence of active trachoma among children was estimated to be 29% (95% CI: 28–30) and mean community sanitation usage was 47% (95% CI: 45–48). Despite significant modification (p < 0.0001), no pattern in stratified ORs was detected.

Summarizing across strata, community sanitation usage values of 60 to < 80% and ≥ 80% were associated with lower prevalence odds of active trachoma, compared with community sanitation usage of < 20% (OR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.57–1.03 and OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.48–0.95, respectively).

Conclusion – In Amhara, Ethiopia, a negative correlation was observed between community sanitation usage and prevalence of active trachoma among children, highlighting the need for continued efforts to encourage higher levels of sanitation usage and to support sustained use throughout the community, not simply at the household level.

WHO – Trachoma fact sheet

Trachoma Fact sheet, July 2016. WHO

• Full text

Key facts

• Trachoma is a disease of the eye caused by infection with the bacteriumChlamydia trachomatis.
• It is known to be a public health problem in 42 countries, and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. Just over 200 million people live in trachoma endemic areas and are at risk of trachoma blindness.
• Blindness from trachoma is irreversible.
• Infection spreads through personal contact (via hands, clothes or bedding) and by flies that have been in contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. With repeated episodes of infection over many years, the eyelashes may be drawn in so that they rub on the surface of the eye, with pain and discomfort and permanent damage to the cornea.
• Resolution WHA51.11 adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1998 targets the global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem by 2020.
• The elimination strategy is encapsulated by the acronym “SAFE”: Surgery for advanced disease, Antibiotics to clear C. trachomatis infection, and Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to reduce transmission.
• In 2015, more than 185 000 people received surgical treatment for advanced disease, and 56 million people were treated with antibiotics for trachoma.

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Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. It is caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis. The infection is transmitted through contact with eye and nose discharge of infected people, particularly young children who harbour the principal reservoir of infection. It is also spread by flies which have been in contact with the eyes and noses of infected people.

Smartphones enable the world’s largest disease study

Smartphones enable the world’s largest disease study | Source: Medical News Today, March 14, 2016 |

The results of the largest infectious disease study ever to be undertaken have revealed that 100 million people around the world are at risk of blindness from the infectious disease trachoma.

The research project, which involved 2.6 million participants in 29 different countries, over a 3-year period, was made possible by the use of smartphone technology to help collect, log and transmit data from surveyors operating around the world.

Smartphones enabled organizers to ensure that data could be easily collected in even the most remote parts of the world and then subsequently transmitted for analysis. Image credit: Sightsavers/Tom Saater

Dr. Caroline Harper, CEO of Sightsavers, says:

“The biggest infectious disease mapping exercise in history, ‘The Global Trachoma Mapping Project,’ has been completed within agreed timescales and budget. Funded by the UK government, in partnership with the US and WHO [World Health Organization], this creates a lasting platform which will underpin the drive to eliminate blinding trachoma, and will also contribute to efforts to eliminate other neglected tropical diseases.”

She adds that it “demonstrates how critical accurate data is in the battle to eliminate diseases, and has been a tremendous exercise in collaboration and the use of mobile technology.”

Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness in the world, impairing the vision of around 2.2 million people, of whom 1.2 million are irreversibly blind. It is a health problem in around 51 countries, including Asia and the Middle East, with Africa carrying the bulk of the burden.

The disease is mostly prevalent in poor, crowded communities with limited access to clean water and sanitation. In its initial stages, it mainly passes between children aged 1-5 years and the women who care for them.

Read the complete article.

 

Zambia – Toilets save eyesight, new study confirms

CALGARY, Nov. 16 /CNW/ – Why in the world is an organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of blindness spending money on toilets?

“Because believe it or not, toilets and blindness are directly connected,” says Pat Ferguson, President & CEO of Operation Eyesight. “Proper sanitation and clean water are in short supply in the developing world and that contributes to a high rate of unnecessary blindness and other serious health problems.”

A new study conducted by Zambia’s Ministry of Health and supported by Operation Eyesight found that trachoma was 28 per cent more likely to strike in households that do not have proper toilet facilities. The study, which covered five districts in Zambia, found that up to 80 per cent of the households surveyed do not have toilets.

“Trachoma is caused by a bacterium and is easily spread from person to person and by flies which breed on human waste,” says Ferguson. “So it’s no surprise that proper sewage disposal helps to prevent this horrible disease.”

Trachoma is the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness. In parts of Zambia and Kenya where Operation Eyesight supports development projects designed to eliminate trachoma, up to 30 per cent of children age one to nine years are infected.

Without treatment, trachoma causes a person’s eyelids to turn inward so that the eyelashes constantly scrape the eyeball. It is extremely painful and can lead to permanent blindness. The World Health Organization estimates more than 80 million people are affected by trachoma and about 8 million suffer the advanced stages of the disease and are visually impaired.

Operation Eyesight’s trachoma projects are designed to both treat and permanently eliminate trachoma. The projects follow the World Health Organization-endorsed SAFE strategy which includes Surgery to treat the late stage of the disease, Antibiotics to eliminate infection, Face washing and hygiene promotion, and Environmental change including water wells and latrines to prevent re-infection.

To be effective, the ambitious projects require construction of thousands of latrines, drilling hundreds of wells, mass distribution of antibiotics and training thousands of citizens in hygiene and well management.

“These projects are large and costly,” says Ferguson, “But the benefits are enormous. In addition to preventing unnecessary blindness, the SAFE strategy dramatically reduces other serious diseases, helps keep children in school and saves women the need to walk many kilometers in search of water, which is usually unfit for human consumption.”

Operation Eyesight is working in close partnership with the governments of Kenya and Zambia and is a member of GET2020, the World Health Organization initiative to eradicate trachoma from the entire world by 2020. For more information about Operation Eyesight’s trachoma projects, visit www.operationeyesight.com.

Operation Eyesight is a Canadian international development organization dedicated to preventing and treating blindness throughout the world for more than 45 years – primarily in South Asia and Africa. We help local medical professionals provide comprehensive, sustainable eye care and community development for the people of the world who can least afford it. Since 1963, Operation Eyesight has restored sight to more than two million people and provided blindness prevention services to nearly 33 million others. For more information, visit www.operationeyesight.com.

Global Blindness – Every five seconds, one person in our world goes blind and a child goes blind every minute. More than 90 per cent of the world’s blind people live in developing countries, where day-to-day life is already challenging and blindness is a direct threat to life. About 80 per cent of this blindness is preventable or treatable.

Source – NewsWire

Sudan: eye disease rampant in the south – study

A large number of people living in Ayod County, Jonglei State, Southern Sudan, are suffering from severe trachoma […] at least one person with clinical signs of trachoma was found in nearly every household, and one in three households had a person with severe blinding trachoma,” [according to a recent study], The Burden of Trachoma in Ayod County of Southern Sudan.

A total of 2,335 people from 392 households, of whom 1,107 were older than 14, were examined for trachoma by researchers from the Carter Center and the University of Cambridge.

Trachoma [occurs] especially where there are shortages of water, numerous flies, and crowded living conditions. […] Poor hygiene practices, such as improper disposal of solid waste and inadequate face cleaning, contribute to its spread.

Active trachoma in Ayod was among the highest reported globally. The study recommended urgent and sustained surgical intervention, the mass distribution of antibiotics, as well as the adoption of the practice of face washing and safe disposal of human waste. There was also a need for increased access to improved water sources.

Only 4.4 percent of the population in the survey area had a latrine, while 23.2 percent of individual caregivers reported never washing their children’s faces.

Source: IRIN, 24 Sep 2008

Related web sites: WHO – Trachoma ; International Trachoma Initiative