Trachoma elimination: Iranians triumph against the world ’s leading infectious cause of blindness

26 September 2018 Tehran Cairo Geneva The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in the Islamic Republic of Iran. By achieving this milestone, the country becomes the third in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, after Oman in 2012 and Morocco in 2016, to overcome this centuries-old disease. “WHO is pleased to have supported the Islamic Republic of Iran through the validation process,” said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “But this achievement was made possible by the Government and people of Islamic Republic of Iran, who have worked tirelessly over decades to eliminate trachoma as a cause of preventable blindness and unnecessary suffering.” The long fight Trachoma was a major cause of visual impairment in Islamic Republic of Iran in the early decades of the 20th century. In 1959, in rural areas of the district of Malayer, two thirds of the population were affected by the disease. A survey in the Dezful district in 1961 showed that 91% of people were affected, including 62% with the active (inflammatory) form. At that time, prevalence in the capital, Tehran, was estimated to be 30–40%. In 1972, tetracycline ointment was introduced as an essential medication in the Health facilities of Iran, and was provided free of charge to people who needed it for treatment of active trachoma. Ophthalmologists were trained during their residency programmes to perform sur...
Source: WHO EMRO News - Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news