Nurses from the Ministry of Health have begun distributing drugs to prevent trachoma, a blind eye disease.
The campaign kicked off at Gilbert Camp in east Honiara yesterday.
More than a hundred people including men, women and children took medication.
The treatment is an effective drug to treat the disease so that the risk of transmission in the communities is reduced.
The nurses conducted awareness talk and distributed medicine to people to prevent them from the risk of transmitting the infection at home and for reducing the chances of getting it.
Mothers were also encouraged to bring their 6months old babies to get medication during mobile teams’ visit and go to the nearest clinics to take medicines to prevent them getting sick with the disease.
Trachoma is a disease of the eye and is commonly found in the poorest parts of the communities where water and sanitations are lacking.
Evidences proved that the disease is among the leading causes of blindness in the world.
It is caused by Chlamydia infection and can transmit from person to person through poor personal hygiene practices such as sharing of face towels, through body contact (particularly infected hands), flies and other cloths that used by an infected person.
Lack of water and poor sanitation plays an important role in facilitating the spread of trachoma infection in communities, and children and women are the most vulnerable population.
It is a preventable disease that can be achieved through good personal hygiene and clean environment.
Solomon Islands has been declared as one of trachoma endemic countries in the pacific countries after a survey was conducted between 2011 and 2013.
The survey result shows that, all the provinces have trachoma and the need to begin with treating everyone is important.
It is important for everyone to get the treatment. The treatment is only one dose and will be repeated after one year. Evidences prove that the using Azithromycin treatment to entire population in trachoma endemic countries shows grate improvement of the reducing of trachoma prevalence.
It is important to know personal hygiene and clean environment plays a crucial role in the elimination of the disease. Without good personal hygiene and poor sanitation, trachoma will not go away as transmission can remain a problem.
Access to reliable water supply and proper sanitation does not only work for trachoma as it helps reduce other problems such as worms, diarrhoeal disease or yaws.
Meanwhile the nurses encouraged everyone to wash face and using clean towels overtime and teach children to get the habit of maintaining personal hygiene.
By JOY BUAOKA