Iraq eliminates trachoma as a public health problem

Subject :Science and Technology

Section: Health

Context:

Iraq has now joined the league of 17 other countries that have eliminated trachoma, a neglected tropical disease and the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced recently.

Details:

The country is also the 50th to be acknowledged by the United Nations health agency for eliminating at least one neglected tropical disease globally.
This major milestone is the halfway mark to the 100-country target set for 2030 in the WHO road map for neglected tropical diseases.

Trachoma:

Trachoma starts off as a bacterial infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and can be easily treated.
Over time, it causes the eyelashes to be pushed inward into the eye. So with every blink, they brush against the eyeball.
This advanced form of trachoma is called trichiasis. Over time, if it’s not treated, trichiasis can lead to blindness.
The disease thrives where there are water shortages, poor sanitation and infestations of flies, which are considered physical vectors of the disease.
Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness and is one of the conditions known as neglected tropical diseases.
The disease is still known to be endemic in six countries of the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, but there has been substantial progress in the number of people in the region requiring antibiotic treatment for trachoma elimination purposes, which has fallen from 39 million in 2013 to 6.9 million in April 2023.

WHO SAFE strategy to end trachoma:

To eliminate trachoma as a public health problem, WHO recommends the SAFE strategy, a comprehensive approach to reduce transmission of the causative organism, clear existing infections and deal with their effects.
The SAFE strategy includes:
- Surgery to treat the blinding stage (trachomatous trichiasis);
- Antibiotics to clear the infection, particularly the antibiotic azithromycin;
- Facial cleanliness and
- Environmental improvement, particularly improving access to water and sanitation.

Countries that eliminate trachoma:

The 17 other countries that have eliminated trachoma are: Benin, Cambodia, China, Gambia, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Vanuatu.

Iraq’s effort to eliminate trachoma:

Iraq established its national trachoma programme in 2012 to coordinate the final domestic push against the disease.
A trachoma surveillance system was developed to detect and manage cases within secondary and tertiary eye care facilities, as well as through school pre-enrollment and school eye screening programmes conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD):

NTDs are a group of infections that are most common among marginalized communities in the developing regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms.
NTDs are especially common in tropical areas where people do not have access to clean water or safe ways to dispose of human waste.
These diseases generally receive less funding for research and treatment than malaises like tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria.
Examples of NTDs are: snakebite envenomation, scabies, yaws, trachoma, Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease etc.

Indian Initiatives to Eliminate NTDs:

The Accelerated Plan for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (APELF) was launched in 2018, as part of intensifying efforts towards the elimination of NTDs.
A WHO-supported regional alliance established by the governments of India, Bangladesh, and Nepal in 2005 to expedite early diagnosis and treatment of the most vulnerable populations and improve disease surveillance and control of sandfly populations (Kala-azar).
India has already eliminated several other NTDs, including guinea worm, and yaws.