- The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized India for successfully eliminating trachoma, a bacterial eye infection, as a public health problem.
- India is the third country (alongside Nepal and Myanmar) in the Southeast Asia region to achieve this milestone.
- Effective surveillance, diagnosis, and management of active trachoma were crucial to the success.
| Trachoma Trachoma is a disease of the eye caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is a public health problem in 42 countries and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. Blindness from trachoma is irreversible. Infection spreads through personal contact (via hands, clothes, bedding or hard surfaces) 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. This causes pain and may permanently damage the cornea. |
Dig Deeper: Read about infectious diseases India has eliminated in recent times.
