Trachoma

Trachoma is an eye infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, spread through direct contact with eye or nose discharge from an infected person or through flies that have touched such discharge. Repeated infection over years causes scarring inside the eyelid that can turn the eyelashes inward, so they scrape against the eyeball, damaging the cornea and eventually causing irreversible blindness. It is the world's leading infectious cause of blindness, concentrated in poor communities with limited access to clean water and sanitation.