At least 200 visually impaired patients in the eastern district of Namayingo shall this month be operated on, the ministry of heath has confirmed.
The team is already in the district to carry out proper diagnosis and make appropriate recommendations.
Meeting with the Deputy RDC, Trevor Solomon Baleke, Dr. Raphael Opon who coordinates the fight against trachoma at the ministry said Friday that there are at 200 cases of blindness in Namayingo district.
“Sir, we have partnered with Sight Savers Uganda , to operate on the 200 patients in your district,” he said.
“A bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis scares eyelids until they turn inward, causing lashes to rub against the eye. It scars the cornea, slowly decreasing vision until blindness sets in,” he said.
Dr. Opon said during treatment, the patients shall receive free operation and will be able to restore their vision.
Sarah Irema, the projects coordinator at Sight Savers urged local leaders to mobilise their communities for those treatment.
She said the team would also sensitize the public on how to prevent trachoma, which cause blindness.
Trachoma
Trachoma is known to be a public health problem in 42 countries and is responsible for blinding or visually impairing about 1.9 million people.
Slightly more than 200 million people live in trachoma-endemic areas worldwide and are at risk of blindness.
Human transmission occurs through contact with infective discharge from the eyes and nose, particularly in young children who harbour the main reservoir of infection. It is also spread by flies which have been in contact with the eyes and noses of infected people.
The immune system can clear a single episode of infection, but in endemic communities the organism is frequently required.
After years of repeated infection, the inside of the eyelid can become so severely scarred (trachomatous conjunctival scarring) that it turns inwards and causes the eyelashes to rub against the eyeball (trachomatous trichiasis), resulting in constant pain and light intolerance.
This and other alterations of the eye can lead to scarring of the cornea. Left untreated, this condition leads to the formation of irreversible opacities, with resulting visual impairment or blindness.
On his part, Mr. Baleke said the team was welcome. He how expressed concern about the reported number of 200 cases of visual impairment.
