Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Nov 25;13(11):e0007835.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007835. eCollection 2019 Nov.

The global burden of trichiasis in 2016

Rebecca M Flueckiger  1 , Paul Courtright  2 , Mariamo Abdala  3 , Amza Abdou  4 , Zaid Abdulnafea  5 , Tawfik K Al-Khatib  6 , Khaled Amer  7 , Olga Nelson Amiel  8 , Sossinou Awoussi  9 , Ana Bakhtiari  10 , Wilfried Batcho  11 , Assumpta Lucienne Bella  12 , Kamal Hashim Bennawi  13 , Simon J Brooker  1   14 , Brian K Chu  10 , Michael Dejene  15 , Djore Dezoumbe  16 , Balgesa Elkheir Elshafie  17 , Aba Ange Elvis  18 , Djouma Nembot Fabrice  12 , Fatma Juma Omar  19 , Missamou François  20 , Drabo François  21 , Jambi Garap  22 , Michael Gichangi  23 , André Goepogui  24 , Jaouad Hammou  25 , Boubacar Kadri  4 , George Kabona  26 , Martin Kabore  27 , Khumbo Kalua  28 , Mathias Kamugisha  29 , Biruck Kebede  30 , Kaba Keita  24 , Asad Aslam Khan  31 , Genet Kiflu  30 , Makoy Yibi  32 , Garae Mackline  33 , Colin Macleod  1 , Portia Manangazira  34 , Michael P Masika  35 , Marilia Massangaie  36 , Takafira Mduluza  37 , Nabicassa Meno  38 , Nicholas Midzi  39 , Abdallahi Ould Minnih  40 , Sailesh Mishra  41 , Caleb Mpyet  42 , Nicholas Muraguri  23 , Upendo Mwingira  26 , Beido Nassirou  4 , Jean Ndjemba  20 , Cece Nieba  24 , Jeremiah Ngondi  43 , Nicholas Olobio  44 , Alex Pavluck  45 , Isaac Phiri  34 , Rachel Pullan  1 , Babar Qureshi  46 , Boubacar Sarr  47 , Do Seiha  48 , Gloria Marina Serrano Chávez  49 , Shekhar Sharma  50 , Siphetthavong Sisaleumsak  51 , Khamphoua Southisombath  52 , Gretchen Stevens  53 , Andeberhan Tesfazion Woldendrias  54 , Lamine Traoré  55 , Patrick Turyaguma  56 , Rebecca Willis  10 , Georges Yaya  57 , Souleymane Yeo  18 , Francisco Zambroni  49 , Jialiang Zhao  58 , Anthony W Solomon  59
Affiliations

The global burden of trichiasis in 2016

Rebecca M Flueckiger et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Trichiasis is present when one or more eyelashes touches the eye. Uncorrected, it can cause blindness. Accurate estimates of numbers affected, and their geographical distribution, help guide resource allocation.

Methods: We obtained district-level trichiasis prevalence estimates in adults for 44 endemic and previously-endemic countries. We used (1) the most recent data for a district, if more than one estimate was available; (2) age- and sex-standardized corrections of historic estimates, where raw data were available; (3) historic estimates adjusted using a mean adjustment factor for districts where raw data were unavailable; and (4) expert assessment of available data for districts for which no prevalence estimates were available.

Findings: Internally age- and sex-standardized data represented 1,355 districts and contributed 662 thousand cases (95% confidence interval [CI] 324 thousand-1.1 million) to the global total. Age- and sex-standardized district-level prevalence estimates differed from raw estimates by a mean factor of 0.45 (range 0.03-2.28). Previously non- stratified estimates for 398 districts, adjusted by ×0.45, contributed a further 411 thousand cases (95% CI 283-557 thousand). Eight countries retained previous estimates, contributing 848 thousand cases (95% CI 225 thousand-1.7 million). New expert assessments in 14 countries contributed 862 thousand cases (95% CI 228 thousand-1.7 million). The global trichiasis burden in 2016 was 2.8 million cases (95% CI 1.1-5.2 million).

Interpretation: The 2016 estimate is lower than previous estimates, probably due to more and better data; scale-up of trichiasis management services; and reductions in incidence due to lower active trachoma prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Histogram for ratio of adjusted and unadjusted prevalence estimates.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Distribution of analysis methodology.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Number of districts contributing data to the overall estimate, by year of survey.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by the year 2020: progress report on elimination of trachoma, 2013. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2014;89(39):421–8. - PubMed
    1. Thylefors B, Dawson CR, Jones BR, West SK, Taylor HR. A simple system for the assessment of trachoma and its complications. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1987;65(4):477–83. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Palmer SL, Winskell K, Patterson AE, Boubacar K, Ibrahim F, Namata I, et al. 'A living death': a qualitative assessment of quality of life among women with trichiasis in rural Niger. International health. 2014;6(4):291–7. 10.1093/inthealth/ihu054 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mabey DC, Solomon AW, Foster A. Trachoma. Lancet. 2003;362(9379):223–9. 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13914-1 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Solomon AW ZM, Kuper H, et al. Trachoma control: a guide for program managers. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2006.

Publication types