Global WHO Alliance for the Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by 2020, Progress report on elimination of trachoma, 2012

Overview

Trachoma is an infectious eye disease that causes a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids and can lead to blindness. It is among the oldest known diseases, being mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus and found in the eyelids of Egyptian mummies. French and British troops returning from the Napoleonic campaigns in Egypt brought the disease to the slums of Europe (where it was known as Egyptian ophthalmia), from where it spread to the United States. With socioeconomic development, advances in hygiene and access to water, trachoma has been eliminated from Europe and the United States.

This report summarizes the campaigns implemented in the last years to implement the SAFE strategy where necessary, in terms of provision of trichiasis surgery and of the mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin and tetracycline eye ointment.