India has scored a win in eradicating trachoma as a public health issue. This achievement- certified by WHO is a milestone in the country’s continuous crusade against communicable illnesses. Trachoma is a bacterial disease attributable to Chlamydia trachomatis that has been a major cause of blinding people for many decades globally. This is because until recent times India has created massive success on the elimination of trachoma from the population thus showing commitment in enhancing public In terms of health and relieving the population from workable diseases.
Understanding Trachoma
Trachoma is a communicable disease of the eye most common in children and if not treated properly leads to blindness. This infection is actually contracted by direct contact with an infected person or direct contact with the bodily discharges, secretions, or touching the surfaces containing the Bacteria. Even flies that have come across the patients’ saliva, nasal, ear, and eye secretions can spread the disease.
Trachoma control in India: a historical perspective
India had long-standing problem control trachoma as a public health concern. The disease affected most the rural communities with inadequate means of hygiene, inadequate supply of clean water, and congested dwelling. Such conditions prevailed in the area and the continual effects were the following impacts: Delivery of trachoma infected the vulnerable groups, especially women and children. The Indian government finally realized this and came up with programs that could control and eradicate the disease.
Measures by Central Government of India
Efforts being made by the Indian government to eradicate trachoma started by conducting several surveys between the year2014 to 2017. These surveys showed that active trachoma cases were reduced to only 0.7 percent, demonstrated the significant progress over the disease. Major strategy Initiatives include:
- Mass Drug Administration (MDA): The communities most affected received antibiotics through mass drug administration campaigns initiated by the government. This approach assisted in the fight against the high infection rates of trachoma because infected people were treated and the spread of the disease was minimized.
- Improving Sanitation and Hygiene: To address this, measures were taken in an attempt to enhance sanitary and cleanliness trends in the sensitive areas. This involved encouraging the use of clean water for washing, disposal of waste properly, personal cleanliness in order to minimize spread of infections.
- Health Education and Awareness: The government conducted health education and awareness creating awareness to the community on trachoma and how it can be controlled. These campaigns focused on washing and regular body cleansing, environmental cleanliness and on seeking professional help when infected with an eye disease.
- Community Engagement: It seemed logical to involve members of the local community in combatting trachoma. Though community health workers were an essential participant in term of diagnosis and management of cases as well as in providing preventive information to the community residents.
- Collaboration with International Organizations: The Indian governments besides following up with the WHO and other international organization used best strategies for controlling trachoma. Technical assistance, necessary equipment and specialists were offered and supplied to improve the situation in the country.
Achieving Elimination
The result of all these interventions resulted into complete control of trachoma as a public health menace in India. The accomplishment was endorsed by the WHO team indicating that India is the third country in South Asia to eliminate trachoma after Nepal and Myanmar. This is actually a giant stride achieved by India that has also seen off other dangerous diseases such as plague, leprosy, and polio.
Impact and Future Prospects
There are enormous benefits when trachoma is wiped out in India this has huge impacts in the improvement of the public health as well as impact on the affected communities. Because of such effort being made to address trachoma, many cases of blindness have been averted, and the quality of life of so many people has been improved. It also makes a precedent for all the other countries which experience similar difficulties in fighting trachoma and other preventable diseases; it proves that with solid concentration and proper approaches chosen, those can be wiped out.India’s experience in the fight against trachoma can be used to combat other pathology in the future. The combination of mass drug administration together with sanitation, health education, as well as community mobilization of endemic nations is possible to utilize in other parts of the world to alter the phenomenon of infectious diseases. Further, surveillance and follow up should be practiced so as to prevent re-occurrence of trachoma and also to sustain the outcomes resulting from these endeavours.
The successful eventualisation of trachoma as a public health problem in India is one of the success stories have given a glimpse into India’s proactive endeavour in enhancing the Indian Public Health systems and reduced prevalence of easily preventable diseases. This success is a positive sign of increased community awareness, active participation of the international community, and the use of extensive approaches. As India and the other developing nations strive to deal with other such health challenges, the case of trachoma elimination provides useful lesson that may be learnt in future. There is potential to scale up the efforts toward health improvement in the country and achieve further advancement in global public health.
Understanding Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious bacterial disease of the eye which belongs to Chlamydia trachomatis family. It is ranked as one of the major causes of avoidable blindness globally. While trachoma has been mostly eradicated in developed countries it is still a serious socio-medical problem in many developing countries especially in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Causes and Transmission
Because trachoma is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, it can be transmitted directly from an infected person’s eye or from the nasal discharge. The infection may also be passed through contact with contaminated objects including a towel or clothing, or flies that have landed on the discharge. The disease affects people in parts of the world that have inadequate ability in maintaining hygiene, contaminated water sources, and people living in crowded environments due to effects of the sickness.
Symptoms and Stages
Trachoma progresses through several stages, each with distinct symptoms:
- Inflammation (Follicular and Intense): At this stage, the main symptoms include itching and redness of the eyes and the lids, and inside the lids small grains or follicles appear in the upper lids.
- Scarring: The infections produce inflammation and scar formation on the inner aspect of the eyelids the eyelashes actually turn inward and scratch the delicate cornea.
- Corneal Opacity: If not treated, the ulcerative condition of constant rubbing of the cornea by the turned inward eyelashes cause corneal scarring, vision impairment and even blindness.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Trachoma diagnostic is done clinically besides a serological test to test for Chlamydia trachomatis which is the cause of trachoma. For the disease to progress and reach complications it needs a time to unfold itself, and hence early diagnosis and treatment is vital.
Treatment options include:
- Antibiotics: For the treatment of the infection, oral or topical antibiotics including azithromycin or tetracycline are given.
- Surgery: In individuals with trachoma and trichiasis in the advanced stage of extension, corrective surgery is required to turn the eyelashes outwards due to which the cornea becomes an object of damage.
- Facial Cleanliness and Environmental Improvement: Facial cleanliness and water &sanitation is importantin trachoma control. It is important to note that those measures play a contributing role in decreasing the spread of the infection.
Public Health Impact
Still, trachoma is a major problem in regard to public health and is especially affects low-income populations. The disease especially affects women and children in their reproductive ages that are mostly in contact with the infection due to their duties in the household and or taking care of sick persons. The diseases cause of visual impaired and blindness lead to low productivity, dependent and poor quality life of the infected persons and their families.
Global Efforts for Elimination
WHO has embarked on several activities that aim at achieving the target of eradicating trachoma as a public health emergency. The WHO endorsed SAFE strategy encompasses four key components:
- Surgery: To treat trichiasis and elimination of risks to blind.
- Antibiotics: This is in a bid to be able to contain the infection cure its reoccurring nature.
- Facial Cleanliness: To encourage practices which will help slow the spread.
- Environmental Improvement: For better availability of water supply and the sanitation facilities in the society.
Most nations of the globe have endeavoured to adopt the SAFE strategy, although with slightly varying success. For example, trachoma, a preventable eye infection, has been scratched off the list of public health concerns in India, following the implementation of POP interventions including, MDA, health promotion, community participation and improvement of the facial environment.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is part of the United Nations system; it is a specialized agency whose main role is to deal with global health matters. WHO began in April 7, 1948, and work based in Geneva, Switzerland, striving for a healthier future for all the generations of people in the world.
Mission and Vision
Specifically, WHO’s mission is to be a directing and coordinating organization within the United Nations system and drives “health, keep the world safe, and serve vulnerable.’’ Its healthcare vision is that everyone should achieve the highest standard of health. To this end, WHO operates on virtually all levels of healthcare, including preventive and control, disease, along with health promotion and social factors.
Key Functions
- Health Leadership and Advocacy: In matters crucial for health, WHO plays the leadership and cooperation role, where action by several actors is desirable. This acts as its legislative arm working for health issues at international level and promotes, focuses development of political will and resource.
- Research and Development: WHO takes the role of the research agenda setter, and encourages the production, interpretation, as well as the communication of useful knowledge. It offers practice-oriented, evidence-based consultancy and assistance to countries.
- Setting Norms and Standards: WHO is involved in the formulation of norms and standards and also supervises and encourages the practice of norms and standards like The International Health Regulations, guidelines, and policies.
- Health Monitoring: WHO works as a watch on the health situation worldwide and also evaluates the state of health. It gathers and publishes health statistics after which it supplies the information that enables countries to make right decisions.
- Technical Support and Capacity Building: WHO assists countries, strengthening health institution systems, and meeting health crises.
Major Initiatives
WHO has launched several major health initiatives to address global health challenges:
- Global Polio Eradication Initiative: Intended to eliminate polio in the entire world, this campaign has gained magnitude progress and has lowered the polio cases by more than one hundred thousand, three percent since 1988.
- Tobacco Free Initiative: Aimed at lowering tobacco use by policy interventions and activities to avert tobacco use.
- COVID-19 Response: Since the emergence of COVID-19, WHO has been the central promoter of the global response, offering the guidelines, and supporting the distribution of vaccines.
What has WHO done for global health is nothing short of admirable. The organization assists in fighting and eradicating diseases such as small pox, child and maternal mortality and check point of infectious diseases. The changing face of global health and future WHO organizational framework will always have WHO at the vanguard of this noble fight for health for all.