Malawi first country in southern Africa to eliminate Trachoma
Recently Malawi has become the first South African country to eradicate trachoma.
India eradicated trachoma in the year 2017.
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), active trachoma is considered to be eliminated when the prevalence of active infection in children below 10 years of age is less than 5%. Trachoma is an eye infection. This disease is caused by a bacterium called Chlamydia trachomatis.
- It is an infectious disease. It spreads through contact with secretions from the eyes, eyelids and nose or throat of an infected person.
- It is responsible for blindness or visual loss in about 9 million people.
Source- The Hindu
