The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Monday that Iraq is now free of a dangerous bacterial infection that affects the eyes and leads to blindness, known as “trachoma” or “granular conjunctivitis.”
The Iraqi News Agency “WAA” quoted the Director of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressing his happiness about Iraq’s announcement of this achievement, confirming that the world is halfway there and the organization aims to eliminate this disease in a hundred countries by 2030.
Ghebreyesus added that “granular conjunctivitis is a bacterial infection that harms the eyes and is transmitted by touching the eyes, eyelids, and nasal and throat secretions of infected persons. The infection can also be transmitted by carrying infection-laden elements on hands.”
Symptoms of “trachoma” include minor itching and irritation of the eyes and eyelids, swelling of the eyelids, and discharge of pus from the eye in the early stage of the disease. If left untreated, “trachoma” can lead to blindness.
Earlier, the Iraqi Minister of Health, Saleh Al-Hasnawi, last Thursday, presented three plans to confront and control hemorrhagic fever and reduce mortality rates.
The Iraqi News Agency “WAA” quoted Al-Hasnawi as saying, “Efforts are ongoing to contain the cases. Three major axes were discussed during the meeting.”
The minister explained that the first axis relates to financial support, where the Cabinet allocated an amount of 3 billion dinars to support the committee, which was distributed between the Ministries of Agriculture and Health. Al-Hasnawi added that the second axis includes qualifying the existing slaughterhouses in the provinces and restarting them.
The minister continued: “The third axis includes the use of another type of pesticide to assist the Ministry of Agriculture in containing livestock infections, focusing on awareness and media, in addition to other detailed matters related to the committee’s work.”
