trachoma

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Trachoma is a hidden disease
Few people have heard of trachoma, a preventable disease that threatens to blind nearly 10 percent of the world’s population. It remains hidden in rural communities where people live in overcrowded conditions with limited access to water and health care. Because the disease is not fatal, it is often overlooked as a priority for public-health intervention. In some communities, the disease is so common that blindness from trachoma is simply accepted as a fact of life. Yet trachoma is treatable, and the suffering that it causes is avoidable.
Trachoma is an infectious disease of the eye caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. The bacteria can be spread easily on an infected person’s hands or clothing, or may be carried by flies that have come in contact with discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person. Because trachoma is transmitted through close personal contact, it tends to occur in clusters, often infecting entire families and communities.
Trachoma can ruin the economic well-being of entire communities. Globally, the disease results in an estimated US $2.9 billion in lost productivity per year. Blindness from trachoma strikes adults in their prime years, hindering their ability to care for themselves and their families. Women, traditionally the caretakers of the home, are three times more likely than men to be blinded by the disease. When a woman can no longer perform vital activities for her household, an older daughter is often removed from school to fulfill her mother’s role, thus losing her opportunity for a formal education. Without intervention, trachoma keeps families shackled within a cycle of poverty, as the disease and its long-term effects are passed from one generation to the next.
Trachoma is a quiet disease
Those who are infected by trachoma do not instantly go blind. The disease manifests gradually – while children are most susceptible to infection, they may not note its effects until adulthood, when scarring from repeated infections causes the eyelashes to turn inward and scratch the cornea, leading slowly and painfully to complete blindness.
Women are up to three times more likely than men to be blinded by the disease.
History of Trachoma
Trachoma is one of the oldest known infectious diseases, with references dating back to ancient Egypt. At the turn of the 20th century, trachoma remained a serious health threat in the United States and Europe—indeed, it was a leading criterion for excluding immigrants at Ellis Island. By the 1950’s, however, trachoma had virtually disappeared from the industrialized world, thanks to improved sanitation and overall living conditions.
Trachoma continues to plague the developing world, remaining endemic in the poorest regions of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and in some parts of Latin America and Australia. Currently, 8 million people are visually impaired as a result of trachoma, and 84 million suffer from active infection.
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Copyright © 2005 The International Trachoma Initiative. All rights reserved.
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