structural:expansion
Eye disease

Trachoma is a chronic conjunctivitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. It was once the leading cause of blindness worldwide, but its role diminished from 15% of blindness cases by trachoma in 1995 to 3.6% in 2002. The infection can be spread from eye to eye by fingers, shared towels or cloths, coughing and sneezing and eye-seeking flies. Symptoms include mucopurulent ocular discharge, irritation, redness, and lid swelling. Newborns can also develop chlamydia eye infection through childbirth (see below). Using the SAFE strategy (acronym for surgery for in-growing or in-turned lashes, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvements), the World Health Organization aimed (unsuccessfully) for the global elimination of trachoma by 2020 (GET 2020 initiative). The updated World Health Assembly neglected tropical diseases road map (2021–2030) sets 2030 as the new timeline for global elimination.