The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have started a study to identify the number of trachoma cases that are now present in Northern India in an effort to allow the WHO to declare India free of the disease, which ends in blindness.
The institute is about to finish the report and will probably present it to the Union Health Ministry. The WHO must give the report its official approval.
In order for trachoma to be considered eliminated, the WHO states that its prevalence must be less than 5%. The prevalence was estimated by AIIMS to be 3.5% in its preliminary investigation.
The primary cause of contagious blindness worldwide, according to the WHO, is trachoma, a chronic infectious illness of the eyes. Trachoma is a disease caused by inadequate access to water and sanitary facilities, as well as poor personal and environmental hygiene. The conjunctiva beneath the eyelids is impacted.
Chief of RP Centre, Dr J.S. Titiyal said, “We survey which being conducted in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and the UTs of Chandigarh and Nicobar Island in Andaman is likely to be complete by May. Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region have themselves declared trachoma free today and India is yet to get this nod from WHO.”
India faced a significant load of trachoma cases in 1970. However, despite India’s health ministry’s declaration that all active trachoma cases in children had been wiped out, WHO refused to grant India the designation of “trachoma free nation” and instead requested that the Indian government conduct a pan-Indian trachomatous trichiasis alone (TT) survey.
“Nation-wide survey was not possible. So, we had a consultation with WHO to allow us to conduct a survey in disease endemic states. So far, 163 districts including 5,26,316 individuals across India have been screened door to door by trained persons till date since 2019,” he said adding that the pace of survey gone down during the pandemic time.
“So, our initial findings suggest that be less than 5% i.e., 3.4 per cent prevalence prevalence of Trichiasis, including blindness due to trachoma. We should be able to submit the report to the health ministry by May for further clearance by WHO to declare India trachoma free,” Dr Titiyal said.
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