In Western Australia a new initiative has been launched aiming to reduce the rates of trachoma in remote Indigenous communities.
Trachoma is a preventable eye infection caused by a bacteria and is the world’s leading cause of infectious blindness.
Australia is the only developed country in the world to have endemic trachoma, almost all of the country’s cases occur in remote Aboriginal communities.
Countries such as Morocco, Ghana, Iran, Mexico, Nepal, China and Cambodia have eliminated trachoma over the last ten years.
The new initiative includes a mobile trailer with two washing machine and dryer units designed to withstand the tough conditions of remote WA.
Project leader Dr Melissa Stoneham from Curtin University’s School of Public Health says the project reinforces methods of preventing trachoma.
