New bid to tackle trachoma blindness

Health Minister Aaron Chiduo has launched a programme aimed at eradicating trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness which he said was endemic in 10 out of 20 regions in Tanzania. The programme includes preventive education, improved water supplies and drug treatments, news agencies reported. Tanzania has received 300,000 doses of a powerful antibiotic to be administered to those who have the condition, arising from infection by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, while over two million children are reported to be at risk of losing their sight. Meanwhile, a new method for delivering simple oral antibiotics may prevent blindness among an estimated 146 million people worldwide suffering from trachoma, according to a study in the British medical journal 'The Lancet', quoted by AFP news agency. The latest edition of the journal cited a study comparing the effects of two different antibiotic regimens on infection rates in trachoma endemic areas in Tanzania, Egypt and The Gambia, it said. The research showed that treating entire communities with a short course of the oral antibiotic azithromycin was more effective that the standard six-week course of daily tetracycline ointment applied to the eye, which made trachoma control an attainable goal, 'The Lancet' reported.