Health authority says trachoma no longer public health problem in China

BEIJING -- Trachoma, an infectious disease that can cause blindness, is no longer a public health problem in China, said an official with the National Health Commission.

The prevalence of active trachoma and trachomatous trichiasis (in-turned eyelashes) among Chinese is far below WHO standards for an epidemic region, said Jiao Yahui, a medical administration official with the commission.

In areas where trachoma is endemic, prevalence can be as high as 60 to 90 percent, according to the WHO.

"Schools are among the priority areas of trachoma prevention.We conducted a survey in schools of most easily affected regions, and found that the prevalence of active trachoma was below 5 percent," said Wang Ningli, an expert from Beijing Tongren Hospital."It's a great job for a country with a population of nearly 1.4 billion to finish."

In addition, a larger proportion of people received cataract surgery in recent years, Jiao noted, adding that the commission promoted reforms in the medical system to better prevent eye diseases caused by diabetes, which is common among diabetics.