It remains hidden in rural communities where people live in overcrowded conditions and have limited access to water and health care. Because the disease is not fatal, some people are not concerned about it. In fact, the disease is so common in certain areas that people believe it is just a fact of life. But for a woman who is slowly going blind, just like her mother did before her, it is a tragedy she will live with for the rest of her life.
Trachoma spreads easily from person to person.
Caused by a bacterium called chlamydia trachomatis, the disease is passed from child to child and child to mother within a family. Mothers of young children are particularly susceptible. In fact, three out of every four people blinded by trachoma are women. When people get trachoma, they do not go blind immediately. The disease begins in childhood and progresses over the years as repeated infections cause irritation and scarring on the inside of the eyelid.