Generality
Trachoma is the world's leading cause of infectious blindness. Caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, the disease is widespread and easily transmitted through direct contact with the eyes and nose of an infected person, or by sharing personal items, such as towels and clothing.
Trachoma most affects the poor and marginalized areas of the world, which do not have adequate access to drinking water and sanitation.
Diagnosis
Active trachoma is often sub-clinical or asymptomatic: the reconstruction of the patient's medical history reconstructs the evidence of clinical signs and provides information on the progress of the disease. The following elements allow to establish the possible contact with the pathogen of the disease:
- live in an endemic region for infectious disease and have contact with family members with trachoma or chronic conjunctivitis;
- duration of eye irritation, acute follicular conjunctivitis or trichiasis;
- give indications regarding similar clinical episodes (active trachoma is often recurrent);
- presence of purulent discharge.
In areas where the disease is endemic, a doctor can diagnose trachoma through:
- physical examination: allows to highlight the presence of clinical signs characteristic of various stages of the disease. An eye exam can detect follicles on the conjunctiva, inflammatory thickening, scarring on the inside of the eyelid, redness of the whites of the eyes, and the growth of new blood vessels in the cornea. Physical examination can also detect any signs of trichiasis or corneal opacity.
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