India eliminates trachoma as a public health problem: WHO

The government of India launched the National Trachoma Control Program in 1963 and later Trachoma control efforts were integrated into India’s National Program for Control of Blindness (NPCB).In 1971, blindness due to Trachoma was 5% and today, owing to the various interventions under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), it has come down to less than 1%, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement. WHO SAFE strategy was implemented throughout the country wherein SAFE stands for the adoption of surgery, antibiotics, facial hygiene, environmental cleanliness, etc.As a result, in 2017, India was declared free from infective Trachoma.However, surveillance continued for trachoma cases in all the districts of India from 2019 onwards till 2024.The National Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT only) Survey was also carried out in 200 endemic districts of the country under NPCBVI from 2021-24, which was a mandate set by WHO in order to declare that India has eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem.All the reports were compiled in a specific dossier format by the NPCBVI team and were shared with the WHO country office for final scrutiny.Finally, after years of fighting against Trachoma, WHO declared that India has eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem.In this eye disease, 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.In 2021, 69,266 people received surgical treatment for an advanced stage of the disease, and 64.6 million people were treated with antibiotics, as per WHO. Global antibiotic coverage in 2021 was 44 per cent.



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