Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. It affects people living in remote and rural communities with inadequate sanitation and poor personal and community hygiene. The bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis causes inflammation and swelling under the inner eyelid leading to scarring. The scars cause eyelashes to turn inward and scratch the eye, producing intense pain made worse by blinking. Eventually, the scratched cornea becomes cloudy leading to irreversible blindness.(1)
(1) World Health Organization. (2016) Trachoma. (online) Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs382/en/
