2023-08-01 09:31:36
Iraq has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, it announced Global Health OrganizationMonday.
What is trachoma?
Trachoma is an eye disease caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.
The infection is transmitted from one person to another through contaminated fingers, infectious tools, and flies that have come into contact with the secretions of the eyes or nose of an infected person.
Environmental risk factors for trachoma transmission include poor personal hygiene, overcrowding in households, and inadequate water and sanitation facilities.
Trachoma is a public health problem in 42 countries, responsible for approximately 1.9 million people becoming blind or visually impaired.
The blindness caused by trachoma is incurable. According to the World Health Organization.
According to June 2022 data, 125 million people live in trachoma-endemic areas and are at risk of becoming blind from it.
The infection is spread by contact with people through hands, clothing, bedding or hard surfaces.
When exposed to repeated bouts of infection over several years, the eyelashes may withdraw into the eye. This causes pain and may lead to permanent damage to the cornea.
Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness in the world, and the disease is caused by bacteria that necessarily live inside a cell called Chlamydia trachomatis.
Trachoma is a bacterial infection that affects the eyes. It is produced when infected with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. Trachoma is contagious and spreads through contact with the eyes, eyelids, and secretions from the nose and throat of infected people. It can also be infected when carrying infected items with hands, such as tissues, according to”Mayo Clinic“.
Common symptoms
Initially, symptoms of trachoma are mild itching and irritation of the eyes and eyelids. Hence, the eyelids may swell, and purulent secretions come out of the eye. If left untreated, trachoma can cause blindness.
Trachoma is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, although it can be prevented. Most cases of trachoma occur in poor regions of Africa. In areas where the disease is common, infection rates among children under five years of age can reach 60% or more.
Early treatment can help prevent complications from trachoma.
face the disease
To eliminate trachoma as a public health problem, WHO recommends cilia surgery, antibiotics, facial hygiene and environmental improvement, a comprehensive approach to reduce transmission of the causative organism, eradicate existing infections and manage their effects.
In 2021, 69,266 people received surgical treatment in an advanced stage of the disease, and another 64.6 million people were treated with antibiotics. Antibiotic coverage rates globally reached 44% in 2021.
The strategy for cilia surgery, antibiotics, facial hygiene, and environmental improvement consisted of surgery to treat stage blindness (trachococcychoidosis) and antibiotics to clear the infection, particularly by mass treatment with the antibiotic azithromycin, which is donated by the manufacturer, Pfizer, to elimination programs, from During the International Trachoma Control Initiative, along with facial hygiene, environmental improvement, in particular improved access to water and sanitation.
Iraq
The organization expressed its congratulations to Iraq for getting rid of trachoma as a public health problem.
Thus, Iraq will be the fifth country in the OIC Region for the Eastern Mediterranean to achieve this important achievement.
The National Trachoma Control Program was established in 2012 in Iraq, and a trachoma surveillance system was set up to detect and manage cases in eye health care facilities, and through eye examination programs conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.
The organization indicated that after getting rid of the disease, it will continue its cooperation with Iraq to “closely monitor the areas where the disease was endemic in order to detect any re-emergence and, if necessary, control it.”
Trachoma, the leading cause of blindness worldwide, is known to be endemic in six countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, but tremendous progress has been made in terms of the number of people in the Region who need antibiotic treatment for elimination. trachoma, which decreased from 39 million people in 2013 to 6.9 million people in April 2023.
Globally, Iraq joins 17 other countries WHO has verified to have cleared trachoma as a public health problem.
These countries are Benin, Cambodia, China, Gambia, Ghana, Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Vanuatu.
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