John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are going from fire blight to sandy blight, in fact, because tonight I would like to speak about the terrible and entirely preventable eye disease, trachoma, which is also known as sandy blight. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Vision 2020 Australia, in raising awareness of and leading advocacy about trachoma, and, more broadly, the efforts to eliminate avoidable blindness and vision loss in Australia by the year 2020. Fred Hollows said that trachoma was a disease of the creche, the childhood nursery. Children under the age of five predominantly bear the active infection but the pain, scarring and damage to the eye is carried into adulthood. Unfortunately, without treatment it results in total blindness. This insidious disease is easily avoidable. The most effective strategy for combating the spread of trachoma is by simply washing children's faces. One of the earliest recorded eye diseases in history, trachoma is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness worldwide. It was an election promise of Woodrow Wilson in 1912 that blinding trachoma be eliminated from the United States, and it was. The World Health Organisation lists Australia as the only developed country that still has prevalent cases of trachoma. The majority of these cases are found almost exclusively within our Indigenous population. It remains the fourth-leading cause of blindness in Aboriginal Australians. In 2009, Professor Hugh Taylor from the University of Melbourne, a world authority and leader in the fight against Third World disease in our Indigenous communities, said that 'trachoma currently affects approximately 20,000 Indigenous children' and 'in certain remote communities, more than half of Aboriginal children have active trachoma and one in 10 adults have the blinding results of the disease.'

The department of health has indicated that trachoma is known to be endemic in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. As recently as 2008, trachoma was identified in children in New South Wales and Queensland where trachoma was thought to be eradicated. Trachoma is a contagious infection of the eye caused by specific strains of the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. Vision 2020 Australia have highlighted a range of environmental factors associated with trachoma, including abundance of household flies, unhygienic latrines, neglected domestic animals, overcrowded housing, contaminated water and lack of community awareness. Transmission of the infection occurs primarily in four ways: direct eye-to-eye spread—for example, while playing or while sharing a bed; conveyance on fingers; indirect spread by sharing towels or clothing; and an abundance of eye-seeking flies. The initial symptoms of trachoma are similar to common conjunctivitis: stinging pain in the eyes, sensitivity to light, swelling of the eyelids and a build-up of conjunctiva. If the symptoms are not treated, the conjunctiva under the eyelid gradually become scarred. The lacrimal glands, where tears are formed, also become scarred. The scarring of the eyelid conjunctiva causes the eyelids to turn in, which is known as trichiasis, and makes them rub against the cornea of the eye. If this rubbing goes untreated, in advanced stages this scarring becomes so bad it causes blindness.

The disease itself can be treated easily and quickly with antibiotics. If the disease remains untreated and eyelashes become inverted, they can be corrected with a simple surgical procedure. In the 2009 budget, the then Rudd government committed $16 million over four years to start the process of eliminating trachoma from Australia as part of the $53 million Indigenous eye and ear health initiative. This followed the commitment made by the Prime Minister, in his report to parliament on the progress made, to close the gap. Already significant reductions in the prevalence of trachoma are being reported.

In the budget this year the government announced funding for the purchase of eye-health testing and treatment equipment for mobile eye-health teams in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales. This funding means that the majority of eye operations will be able to be performed in communities, reducing the stress of disloca­tion and maximising patient attendance and clinical quality. The government is also providing funding for a range of resources to support the national network of 23 regional eye-health coordinators in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Over the last 20 years, progress on trachoma has been made in regional communities across Australia. However, in some remote areas, especially in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, it must be acknowledged that trachoma is still a fact of life. All Australians have the right to sight. It is unacceptable to see children suffering from trachoma infection, on the same path as so many of their elders, which will almost certainly end with total blindness if they do not receive treatment. While progress has been made to eradicate this tragic disease, trachoma is entirely preventable. It disappeared from White Australia 100 years ago, and I look forward to the day it disappears completely for all Australians.

Senate adjourned at 19:58