Opticians urge govt to probe cataracts cases
Examination: An opticians from Mulago hospital examines eyes of a patient last weekend. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
- Cases: Dr Charles Olaro the director clinical services at the Ministry of Health, said cataracts contribute nearly 50 per cent of preventable blindness due to ageing.
KAMPALA. Opticians volunteering in eye camps organised by the North Indian Cultural Association (NICA) have asked government to investigate why cataracts cases are becoming common.
A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens.
During a press conference at the weekend, Dr Ravindran Kanningat from Samta Memorial Foundation, - one of the organisations which partnered with NICA and Monitor Publications for a two-day eye-camp at Mulago hospital, said the partial blindness is also affecting babies.
“It is understandable when we find people aged 45 years and above with cataracts because that is associated with ageing but it becomes strange when we find infants as young as one year born with cataracts,” Dr Kanningat said.
According to Dr Dharmendra Agarwal, the coordinator of the camp, which started on Friday, out of 300 patients who were screened, nearly 250 had cataracts.
Dr Agarwal said there is need to carry out a countrywide survey to see how many people are suffering with the disease.
“We can eradicate cataracts in the country because it requires simple surgery and peoples’ sight is restored but we need more support so that we can continue with countrywide camps because we have found many patients suffering with this disease,” he said.
Dr Charles Olaro, the director clinical services at the Ministry of Health, said: “We note that 50 per cent of preventable blindness is caused by cataracts as much as we are now beginning to see juvenile cataracts, but we need to remove the myths that you get blind once you are operated.”
