Antibiotic Used by SightFirst Found to be Very Effective
by The Lion
Since at least the time when the pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt, a bacterium that causes the eyelashes to turn inward and scratch the cornea has been a leading cause of blindness. Today, trachoma infects 84 milion people in 55 nations (chiefly developing countries) and has blinded 7.6 Million.
Trachoma is caused by the micro-organism called chalamydia trachomatis, which is spread through contact with eye discharge, fingers, handerkchiefs or even flies. Repeated infections scar the inside of the eyelid and eventually turn it inward. Blindness occurs when the eyelashes scratch the cornea. Woman and children are especially susceptible to the disease.
The SightFirst program has targeted trachoma since 1999, and last year SightFirst grants supported trreatment to prevent the diseas for more than 400,000 people in Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with other measures, Lions distribute the antibiotic Zithromax, a brand name for azithromycin, to counter trachoma.
A new study now shows that Zithromax is even more effective than previously believed. British researchers found that a single dose of azithromycin appears to stop the infections that cause trachoma. Their study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier studies show azithromycin to have better long-term results when compared to other drugs.
Through SightFirst, Lions not only distribute Zithromax, donated by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, but also teach and advocate the SAFE strategy to avoid infection. The acronym stands for surgery, antibiotics, face washing adn environmental change. A simple surgical procedure can correct the eyelid deformity. Frequent face washing reduces disease transmission. Evironmental change involves increasing access to clean water and better santiation as well as imporved health education.
SightFirst’s trachoma control efforts began in 1999 when it awarded The Carter Center US $16.2 million to counter both river blindness and trachoma in Sudan and Ethiopia. In 2002, SightFirst approved two grants fro US $406,000 to combat trachoma in Ethiopia through surgery and training of nurses. In January 2005, SightFirst approved US $87,000 for a National Trachoma Control Program in Mauritania.
British researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discovered that treating most of an East African village with azithromycin resulted in the village remaining virtually disease-free for two years. The infection rate dropped from 9.5 percent to 2.1 percent within two months adn fell to 0.1 percent after two years.
Despite the study, public health experts caution that twice-a-year doses of azithromycin might still be needed in areas with high infection rates. The study took place in a village in Tanzania with a moderate infection rate of trachoma.
posted by CambridgeLions.org