What is trachoma?
It is a bilateral eye disease classified as The leading cause of preventable blindness Of infectious origin on the earth. It is brought on by vector-borne bacteria.
There are special varieties of bacteria. Servers A to C. Flies spread the disease by coming involved with infected people. The bacteria will also be transmitted through body fluids either through physical contact or sexual activity. It can also be spread through contaminated bedding and clothing materials.
The bacterium is notoriously stubborn due to its ability to alternate between its reticulated (smaller) and primitive (larger) body forms.
This bacterium is a Obligate intracellular pathogens Like Trypanosomia and Rickettsia. This means it may possibly only survive contained in the host cell. Therefore, eradication of disease properly means lack of cell bodies within the host.
poverty, Poor cleaning habits And there are more congested areas. Common factors which encourage the spread of disease.
Young persons are probably the most vulnerable to this disease. One of the studies North Cameroon The next prevalence was observed in participants younger than nine years of age in comparison with participants older than 15 years.
Trachoma is characteristic of episodes of keratoconjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva and cornea). It presents with redness and pain within the eyes.
In the early stages of the infection, the perimeters of the eyelids grow to be distorted, causing the eyelids to collapse into the attention. This can result in scarring or tearing of the cornea. This inner side of the eyelids is known as a. trachomatous trichiasis.
Twenty years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a Resolution To combat the scourge of trachoma.
What are the incidence and distribution rates of the disease?
Trachoma is currently endemic 44 countries. The African continent is probably the most affected. The disease is present in coastal interior countries corresponding to Sudan and Ethiopia. A glimmer of hope is Ghana, which last yr became the primary country in Africa to be declared trichoma-free.
Available data suggest that the situation has improved dramatically over the past 20 years. In 2009, 41 million people still had trachoma. This was down from 83 million six years ago. The latest data from WHO shows that there There are 1.9 million people. Those who’ve been blinded or have severe visual impairment attributable to trachoma. After the implementation of the WHO resolution, its prevalence has decreased worldwide.
What could be done to beat this? How is it treated?
WHO has provided Rapid classification system for the diagnosis of trachoma. This is to assist manage the disease. Its purpose is to reduce damage to the attention during certain stages of the disease.
As a part of the campaign it formulated a technique to combat the disease which included:
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Surgery to correct trichiasis. In 2018, 146,112 people underwent surgery to correct trachomatous trichiasis, while one other 89 million patients got various antibiotics for the early stages of the disease.
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Antibiotic coverage for infection control: Pfizer is the producer of Ethromycin and has donated greater than 500 million units of the drug so far.
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Wash your face to enhance hygiene
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Improving environmental health to scale back disease transmission and breeding of vectors.
Improving the health of the environment and promoting personal hygiene are geared towards stopping the spread of disease.
A clean environment will mean little or no room for flies that act as vectors. It may also mean that private contact with infected personal belongings of affected individuals shall be reduced.
Mouth washing is particularly vital in rural communities where the disease is endemic.