Becomes 50th country globally to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease
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.
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.
“Happy to announce that Iraq has eliminated trachoma and become the 50th country recognised by the WHO for eliminating a neglected tropical disease, marking the halfway point towards the 100-country target set for 2030,” Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, tweeted.
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.
Iraq established its national trachoma programme in 2012 to coordinate the final domestic push against the disease, the WHO said in a statement. 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.
“The success of Iraq’s national trachoma programme has shown what can be achieved with national leadership and collaboration,” said Ghebreyesus. “Freedom from trachoma will positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable populations now and in the future”.
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.
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.
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.
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Iraq established its national trachoma programme in 2012 to coordinate the final domestic push against the disease, the WHO said. Photo for representation: iStock.png)
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