Australia eliminates Trachoma endemic

The World Health Organisation has confirmed Australia has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, a landmark achievement for people and communities and a significant step in preventing avoidable vision loss.

Trachoma is the world’s leading infectious cause of preventable blindness. In Australia, trachoma is found primarily in regional and remote First Nations communities, and most commonly in children.

Repeated infections with trachoma, especially during childhood, may lead to trichiasis, where scarring causes the eyelashes to turn inwards and damage the surface of the eye and can lead to loss and blindness.

Huge milestone

“The elimination of trachoma in Australia marks a major milestone for the eye health of our communities,” Health Minister Mark Butler said.

“In the real world, it is helping to protect sight, wellbeing and quality of life from this preventable disease.”

In communities identified as being at risk, trachoma prevalence has reduced in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 5-9 years from 14.9 per cent in 2009 to 1.5 per cent in 2024.

This is a huge milestone and reflects decades of community-led effort by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), medical professionals and health workers in bi-partisan partnership with consecutive Commonwealth, state and territory governments.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said the milestone reflected years of community‑led work to keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children healthy.

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said the milestone reflected years of community‑led work.

“Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and local health workers have driven the progress that has made elimination of trachoma possible,” she said.

“This is an important step in Closing the Gap in health outcomes. It shows that long‑term, community‑led solutions can and do deliver lasting change.”

While this is an important achievement, commuinties need to remain vigilant to avoid the re-emergence of trachoma.

The Government said it remained committed to supporting communities to maintain elimination and protect eye health, with the lessons from this work helping to shape how we tackle other preventable health conditions in remote and regional Australia.

What is trachoma?

Trachoma is an infectious eye disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide.

It primarily affects children in endemic areas, with repeated infections over years leading to scarring of the eyelids and cornea.

Globally, about 97 million people live in trachoma-endemic areas, and approximately 1.9 million people suffer from blindness or visual impairment due to the disease.