Trachoma

Trachoma is a neglected tropical disease, and the leading infectious cause of blindness. Disease results from ocular infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which is spread by direct contact with eye and nose discharges from infected individuals, by contact with fomites (inanimate objects that carry infectious agents) such as towels and/or washcloths, or by eye-seeking flies.

The estimated number of people living in endemic districts, at risk of trachoma blindness, has declined from 317 million in 2010 to 114 million in 2023, due to a combination of improved data and implementation of SAFE Strategy (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, Environmental improvement). In 2023, 130 thousand people are reported to have received operations for the late, blinding stage of trachoma (trachomatous trichiasis), and about 33 million people received antibiotics for trachoma. Since 2011, eighteen countries – Benin, Cambodia, China, Gambia, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Vanuatu – have been validated by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem.