**1. Introduction**

Trachoma has been recognized as a cause of blindness since antiquity [1–3]. Early Egyptian and Chinese manuscripts described its manifestation, therapy, and complications. Trachoma remains the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide [4]. The intracellular bacterium *Chlamydia trachomatis* (*C. trachomatis*) is the causative agent, and it causes chronic keratoconjunctivitis [5].

*C. trachomatis* can spread either directly through interpersonal contact with secretions from the eyes and noses of infected individuals or indirectly via contact with pieces of clothing or flies that have picked up the bacterium from an infected person [6]. It has been demonstrated that poor sanitation, overcrowding, and insufficient clean water and toilets significantly increase the rate of spread [4].

Episodes of repeated reinfection within cohorts and families cause intense conjunctival inflammation described as *active trachoma*, which leads to conjunctival scarring. Scarring from trachoma distorts the normal anatomy of the upper tarsal plate leading to entropion and trichiasis also known as *cicatricial trachoma* [7].

The World Health Organization (WHO) along with its partners in 1996 adopted surgery (S), antibiotics (A), facial cleanliness (F), and environmental improvement (E) strategy as the best approach for the control of trachoma [8].

The Neglected Tropical Disease Road map 2021–2030 has set 2030 as the target year for the global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem. Recently, the Global Trachoma Mapping Project and its successor Tropical Data established

communities across the globe where elimination efforts should be concentrated to achieve the goal of eliminating trachoma [9].
