International trachoma initiative says disease eliminated in Morocco
Morocco, Health, 12/12/2001

Trachoma-related blindness has been nearly eliminated in Morocco, says an international fund "the International Trachoma Initiative" that also announced plans to expand its program.

The International Trachoma Initiative predicted Tuesday that trachoma-related blindness, a risk to 1.5 million people in Morocco just five years ago, will be eradicated in the country by 2005.

"It is quite gratifying because this is a disease that took several decades for the United States to control at the beginning of the 20th century," said Jeffrey Mecaskey, program director.

Nearly 6 million people around the world- 75% of whom are women - are either blind or near-blind because of trachoma, according to the World Health Organization. Another 150 million people have trachoma, WHO estimates.

The ITI initiative was established in 1998 through a public-private partnership between the New York City-based Edna McConnell Clark Foundation and drug giant Pfizer Inc., which donated its oral antibiotic Zithromax, an expensive antibiotic so powerful that patients need just one dose a year.

Since the program became active in Morocco, trachoma cases have dropped from 28% to 6.5% among the 1.5 million people in the program area.

This was the most rapid elimination ever in a single country, the group said. The industrialized world eradicated trachoma in the early 20th century but it still afflicts poorer countries that have water and sanitation problems and poor hygiene.

ITI is fighting the disease in five other countries - Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Sudan and Vietnam. It plans to soon begin projects in three more - Ethiopia, Nepal and Niger. Pfizer has promised more than $200 million over the next two years to fight the disease, the initiative said Tuesday.

Trachoma, caused by infection with the germ Chlamydia trachtomatis, is a severe form of conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye. Infections usually begin in childhood, but do not cause blindness until later in life, as repeated untreated bouts cause scarring and shrinking of the inside of the upper eyelid.

The bacteria are usually transmitted within families, particularly those with small children, and cause a sticky discharge from the eye. Flies can pass the bacteria and recurring infection results in scarring of the inner eyelid which damages the cornea and causes blindness. Women have higher incidence of blindness than men.

The ITI scheme takes a four-pronged approach -- surgery for severe disease, a once-yearly dose of Pfizer Inc.'s oral antibiotic Zithromax, face washing and improvements in oral hygiene and sanitation.

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