StemCell Therapy

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Cataracts considered to be the most common cause of blindness in India

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They can only be treated by surgery

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National Blindness Survey completed in 23 districts: AIIMS doctor

In a bid to eliminate blindness from India, the Union health ministry conducted a National Blindness Survey (2015-2018) in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

But what came out in the survey is striking and alarming as nearly "62 to 65 per cent of those surveyed randomly were found to be having cataract".

According to a senior AIIMS doctor, initial findings of the survey has revealed about 62 per cent to 65 percent cases of cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the population and percent of glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy would also be revealed.

Cataracts are considered to be the most common cause of blindness in India, and can only be treated by surgery.

RAAB METHOD

This is the first ever survey done on a sample of 90,000 using the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB)-6 methodology.

RAAB is a scientific and rapid population-based survey of visual impairment and eye care services among people aged 50 years and above, to estimate the prevalence and causes of avoidable blindness and visual impairment in the population.

Speaking to MAIL TODAY, Dr Atul Kumar, chief and professor of opthalmology at AIIMS's RP eye centre said: "The National Blindness Survey (2015-2018) is being conducted by our dedicated team and it has been completed in 23 districts till date. This survey is scheduled to be completed in all 30 districts by June 2018."

"This survey will provide the most reliable representative current estimates of blindness and visuals impairment among aged 50 years and above population in India. The survey will also generate for the first time, the burden of DR and sight threatening DR in the population," said Dr Kumar.

Prof JS Titiyal, an ophthalmologist and a leading cataract surgeon at AIIMS, said as many as 65 lakh cataract surgeries were performed in India every year, but the number of cases was still so high.

"Nearly 65 per cent of NPCB budget is used only for cataract programmes. When we did a surgery in 1986- 89, the disease was about 80 per cent and in 2001 survey it reduced to 62 per cent."

Prof Dr Praveen Vashist, head of community ophthalmology at RP eye centre told MAIL TODAY, "As of now, in India, the evidence for the burden of visual impairment is nearly about 5.4 crore and blindness is about 50 lakhs, which is 20 per cent of the global economic burden."

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National Blindness Survey: 62 to 65 per cent of those surveyed ... - India Today

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