Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness.
Trachoma is a bacterial eye infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is spread through contact with infected eye and nose secretions, often through direct personal contact, shared towels or cloths, as well as eye-seeking flies.
Repeated infection can develop into a condition known as trichiasis, in which scarring and inward turning of the eyelid causes the eyelashes to scrape against the cornea of the eye. If left untreated, this painful condition can result in permanent blindness.
Impact
Trachoma can result in loss of vision, blindness, loss of social status and stigmatization and which may increase the economic burden on individuals, families, and communities. Research suggests children have higher rates of trachoma infection than other age groups. Women are blinded at a higher rate than men, likely due to their close contact with infected children and their resulting greater frequency of infection episodes. However, in some cases trichiasis can be corrected with surgery. Blindness from unoperated trachomatous trichiasis strikes adults in their prime years (30–40 years of age), which may hinder their ability to care for themselves and their families. The long-term effects of the disease can have an impact on multiple generations of families.
Learn more at the WHO Trachoma page.
Photo: A health worker looks for signs of trachoma in a young girl’s eye using a magnifying loupe. Credit: USAID
USAID’s support for trachoma elimination has resulted in an estimated 196 million people no longer at risk.
WHO recommends the SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma. The SAFE strategy is a comprehensive public health approach that combines treatment (Surgery and Antibiotics) with prevention (Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement), to reduce the occurrence of trachoma.
USAID provides technical and financial support to countries in their efforts to eliminate infectious blinding trachoma as a public health problem. The primary focus of Agency support is on scale-up of mass drug administration with antibiotics in communities at risk.
Global scale-up of the SAFE strategy requires dynamic public-private partnerships. The Agency works closely with a broad range of public and private partners dedicated to the global elimination of trachoma, including Pfizer, Inc., which has donated more than 1 billion treatments of Zithromax® to countries.