Washington DC, March 25, 2025 (PAHO) – In the last two years, the countries of the Americas have made significant progress to eliminate tracoma, the main cause of infectious blindness worldwide. These advances are part of the initiative for the elimination of tracoma in the Americas, directed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in collaboration with the Canada government.
The tracoma, caused by the Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, is transmitted through direct contact with ocular and nasal secretions of infected individuals. In the region, it persists in rural and remote areas of Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru, where approximately 5.6 million people run the risk of contracting the disease. Women and children are the most affected.
Since 2023, interventions based on the safe strategy recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) have been implemented as part of the initiative. These include surgery to prevent blindness, antibiotic distribution, facial hygiene promotion and improvements in environmental conditions.
Actions have also been extended to include countries with suspicion of tracoma, such as Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti and Venezuela, as well as in Mexico, which in 2017 became the first country in the region to eliminate the disease as a public health problem and continues to work to prevent its reemergency.
A key component of this initiative is surveillance, which helps identify areas where tracoma remains a problem and confirms or discards its presence in others. To evaluate the magnitude of the disease, prevalence surveys were carried out in Brazil and Venezuela in the Special District of Indigenous Health of the Tocantins and the state of Amazonas, respectively. The results of these surveys will guide the required interventions.
In Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, quick evaluations are being carried out in prioritized risk areas to determine if prevalence surveys are necessary. In remote and difficult communities, including those visited in Bolivia, more than 4,300 people were examined. These visits also provided visual health services, including surgeries for 17 patients with cataracts, oral medical care, pediatrics, psychopeedgogy, gynecology, maternal health, telemedicine, immunizations and general and traditional medicine.
The training of local health personnel has also been a key approach. Between 2023 and 2024, programs in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico combined theory and practice to train surgeons and health workers in surgical procedures, as well as surveillance and control.
Access to clean water and sanitation has also been addressed, essential to prevent tracoma transmission. PAHO has promoted data collection on these conditions in priority areas, which has allowed the development of a municipal board to facilitate intervention planning to improve these services and reduce the risk of the disease.
The tracoma is part of the more than 30 communicable diseases and the related conditions that Paho aims to eliminate by 2030 through its elimination initiative.
