Key facts Globally, trachoma is considered to be a public health problem in 42 countries and is responsible for blindness and visual disability in nearly 1. Trachoma is one of the leading infectious causes of preventable blindness and is hyperendemic in many of the rural, poor, and remote areas of countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Central and South America, and the Middle East.
In the Region of the Americas, there is evidence of trachoma, including trachoma-caused blindness, in Brazil, Colombia, and Guatemala, and it is estimated that up to 5 million people are at risk of contracting the disease.
In , Mexico received validation from WHO for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, becoming the first country in the Region to reach this goal. What is trachoma? PAHO supports a regional forum that includes the participation of four countries of the Americas that have had communities affected by trachoma Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico.
In this forum, these countries, along with experts from other organizations, analyze the situation in the Region and make technical recommendations for achieving trachoma elimination. In communities where the disease is highly endemic, it may happen in childhood, although it is more common among to year-olds.
The infection affects people that live in extreme poverty more than others. The main factors that can contribute to transmission of the disease are poor hygiene, crowded housing, water shortages, and insufficient access to latrines and sanitation services. Women are four times more likely to develop blindness from this disease than men, probably because they have more frequent contact with infected children. This disease can be prevented through access to clean water and proper sanitation.
Facial hygiene that does not remove eye secretions contaminated with the bacteria, as well as the shared use of towels by children, increase the persistence of the infection in a community. Repeated infection with Chlamydia trachomatis during many years produces scars in the internal part of the upper eyelid, which causes the eyelashes to go inwards and scratch the eyeball. The scars in the eyelid also affect the lacrimal secretion and produces dryness in the eye.
These conditions increase the risk of ulcerations and scars in the cornea. The corneal scarring deteriorates the vision. If it is not treated, this condition damages corneal opacity irreversibly and lead to blindness.
The active trachoma sequelae appear in the adult age and in medium age people. It mainly affects the most vulnerable people such as women and children. As complication of trachoma, adult women have a greater risk than adult men to develop blindness, explained by the fact that women tend to devote a greater time with young children in close contact, whom are the principal reservoir of the infection.
It is estimated that in the world, by March , The estimated total global burden of trachomatous trichiasis in is 2. In the American Region, there exists evidence of trachoma in four countries and it is estimated that 5 million people live in areas warranting interventions for trachoma elimination. By , Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, and Peru had evidence of trachoma as a public health problem. Mexico reached the elimination goal in Some other countries started trachoma rapid assessments in as part of the initiative to compile evidence for a future process of validation of the elimination in the Region of the Americas.
This consists of:. Without treatment the eyelashes turn in and rub on the cornea the clear part of the front of the eye. This is called trichiasis, and may be painful.
Eventually this will cause scarring of the cornea, followed by loss of vision and blindness. Between 5 to 10 days, but most episodes of infection are reinfections and usually occur in children who already have the disease.
Trichiasis usually takes many years to develop. Between 2 to 3 months. Trachoma is very infectious in its early stage and may be infectious on and off as long as active infection persists. The diagnosis is made by qualified primary health care staff Aboriginal health workers, nurses and doctors taking a history and examining the eye. A swab of the eye may be used to help the diagnosis but is not routinely required.
Information modified and reproduced with kind permission from Northern Territory Centre for Disease Control. Trachoma Factsheet for patients and health professions. How infectious diseases are spread and simple and practical advice for preventing the spread of infection in the home and community. Is it really an emergency? Consider the best health care option for you before visiting an Emergency Department.
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