Crossword clues for trachoma
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Trachoma \Tra*cho"ma\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? roughness, fr. ? rough.] (Med.) a contagious granular conjunctivitis caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is a chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva -- Tra*chom"a*tous, a.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
disease of the eyes, 1690s, from Modern Latin trachoma, from Greek trakhoma "roughness," from trakhys "rough."
Wiktionary
n. (context medicine English) An infectious disease of the eyelid caused by the bacterium (taxlink Chlamydia trachomatis species noshow=1).
WordNet
n. a chronic contagious viral disease marked by inflammation of the conjunctiva and cornea of the eye and the formation of scar tissue
Wikipedia
Trachoma, also called granular conjunctivitis, Egyptian ophthalmia, and blinding trachoma, is an infectious disease caused by bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea of the eyes, and possibly blindness. Untreated, repeated trachoma infections can result in a form of permanent blindness when the eyelids turn inward.
The bacteria that cause the disease can be spread by both direct and indirect contact with an affected person's eyes or nose. Indirect contact includes through clothing or flies that have come into contact with an affected person's eyes or nose. Children spread the disease more often than adults. Poor sanitation, crowded living conditions, and not enough clean water and toilets also increase spread.
Efforts to prevent the disease include improving access to clean water and decreasing the number of people infected by treatment with antibiotics. This may include treating, all at once, whole groups of people in whom the disease is known to be common. Washing by itself is not enough to prevent disease but may be useful with other measures. Treatment options include oral azithromycin and topical tetracycline. Azithromycin is preferred because it can be used as a single oral dose. After scarring of the eyelid has occurred, surgery may be required to correct the position of the eyelashes and prevent blindness.
Globally, about 80 million people have an active infection. In some areas infections may be present in as many as 60–90% of children and it more commonly affects women than men likely due to their closer contact with children. The disease is the cause of a poor ability to see in 2.2 million people of which 1.2 million are completely blind. It commonly occurs in 53 countries of Africa, Asia, Central and South America with about 230 million people at risk. It results in US$8 billion of economic losses a year. It belongs to a group of diseases known as neglected tropical diseases.
Usage examples of "trachoma".
They avoided passengers who seemed to be suffering from trachoma or favus.
By the end of the year nearly one million refugees had left Turkey for Greece bringing epidemics of typhus and malaria, trachoma and smallpox.
The people would seem so free of diseases as to be miraculously healthy: no trachoma or leprosy, plague or cholera, those common scourges of primitive times.
Reportedly in the mid-1980s Iraq had a high incidence of trachoma, influenza, measles, whooping cough, and tuberculosis.
Since trachoma is particularly common in the Middle East, this may possibly account for the number of blind beggars featured in the stories of the Arabian Nights.
Upon their arrival at New York, it appeared that the children had contracted a disease of the eyelids, which the doctors of the Immigration Bureau declared to be trachoma, which is contagious, and in adults incurable.
Infected with trachoma, the upper eyelid turns inward so that the lashes slash the cornea as the eye blinks, causing blindness.
Annie, although physically robust, contracted trachoma when she was about five.