“We are so close to where we need to be with the elimination of this disease that we couldn’t give up now”said Pfizer chief sustainability officer and senior vice president Caroline Roan.
trachoma is a infection caused by the Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria and is transmitted through human contact (shared use of towels and handkerchiefs, contact with hands) Y flies that had contact with eye secretions of infected peopleaccording to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Africa is the most affected continent and the number of women who go blind is four times that of men, probably due to their close contact with infected children.
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Repeated infections pull the lashes inward, where they rub against the eye, causing pain and permanent damage to the cornea, the WHO says.
Some 136 million people live in areas where trachoma is endemic.
Initially, the goal of the initiative was to eliminate the disease by 2020. Thanks to the progress made, trachoma has ceased to be a public health problem in 13 countries, including Mexico and China. But the disease persists in 44 countries.
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As a result of the initiative, different areas are evaluated and, if more than 5% of children are infected, the antibiotic is offered to the entire local population, once a year, both for treatment and prevention.
“Some of the campaigns treat literally 10 million people in a week, which really eliminates the infectious reservoir”declared the director of the ITI, Paul Emers.
But the challenge is reaching isolated populations, including nomads, as well as combining the drug with promoting hygiene measures such as frequent face washing in areas where water may be scarce.
Source: Ambito
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