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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that increase your risk of contracting trachoma include:
- Poverty. Trachoma is primarily a disease of extremely poor populations in developing countries.
- Crowded living conditions. People living in close contact are at greater risk of spreading infection.
- Poor sanitation. Poor sanitary conditions and lack of hygiene, such as unclean faces or hands, help spread the disease.
- Age. In areas where the disease is active, it's most common in children ages 4 to 6.
- Sex. Women contract the disease at rates two to six times higher than those for men.
- Poor access to water. Households at greater distances from a water supply are more susceptible to infection.
- Flies. People living in areas with problems controlling the fly population may be more susceptible to infection.
- Lack of latrines. Populations without access to working latrines — a type of communal toilet — have a higher incidence of the disease.
References
- Hygiene-related diseases: Trachoma. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/disease/trachoma.html. Accessed Aug. 17, 2012.
- Water-related diseases: Trachoma. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/trachoma/en/index.html. Accessed Aug. 17, 2012.
- Wright HR. Epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of trachoma. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 17, 2012.
- Trachoma. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/eye_disorders/conjunctival_and_scleral_disorders/trachoma.html?qt=trachoma&alt=sh. Accessed Aug. 17, 2012.
- Conjunctivitis. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/eye_disorders/conjunctival_and_scleral_disorders/conjunctivitis.html?qt=conjunctivitis&alt=sh. Accessed Aug. 23, 2012.
- Trachoma overview. International Trachoma Initiative. http://trachoma.org/world%E2%80%99s-leading-cause-preventable-blindness. Accessed Aug. 17, 2012.
- WHO simplified trachoma grading system. Community Eye Health. 2004;17:52. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1705737. Accessed Aug. 23, 2012.
- Prevention of blindness and visual impairment: Trachoma. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/blindness/causes/trachoma/en/index.html. Accessed Aug. 24, 2012.
- Blindness, trachoma in children under 10 in 2003. Global Health Atlas. World Health Organization.http://apps.who.int/globalatlas/dataQuery/. Accessed Sept. 6, 2012.
- Robertson DM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 5, 2012.
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