NEW DELHI, October 21 — The World Health Organization (WHO) formally presented an official citation to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday certifying that India has successfully eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem nationwide.
Caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium 'Chlamydia trachomatis', Trachoma is a contagious ocular infection listed among global Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) that causes inward turning of the eyelashes (trichiasis) and irreversible corneal blindness if untreated. Following exhaustive epidemiological surveys across formerly endemic northern districts confirming active infection prevalence below 0.2% in children, India became the third nation in the WHO South-East Asia Region (after Nepal and Myanmar) to achieve this milestone.
Health officials credited sustained decades-long interventions under the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI), which operationalized the WHO-recommended 'SAFE' strategy (Surgery for trichiasis, Azithromycin Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental sanitation under Swachh Bharat and Jal Jeevan Mission).
Microbiological agents of major infectious diseases (bacterial vs viral vs protozoan), classification of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs including Kala-azar and Lymphatic Filariasis), and India’s public health eradication history (Smallpox 1977, Guinea worm 2000, Polio 2014, Maternal & Neonatal Tetanus 2015, and Yaws 2016) are high-frequency UPSC Prelims Science questions.