Shroff’s has recently implemented a successful comprehensive project in the district of Mohammadi which trained workers at every level of care.  Now, Shroff’s, along with KLI will replicate and expand this model of training to other districts in India.

Microbial keratitis is an ocular emergency.  Without prompt, appropriate treatment, significant ocular morbidity can ensue, including blindness through corneal scarring and even eye loss. Shroff’s and KLI will develop a model for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of keratitis to expand to the district of Saharanpur.  Healthcare providers will be trained on the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels to screen, diagnose, and treat keratitis at the earliest stages while broadening community awareness.

Saharanpur, is a largely agricultural district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.  SCEH will recruit and 70 women in this district to be “Aayda workers”.  With the support of Cure Blindness International, SCEH has developed its Aadya Initiative to empower local women by training and employing them to become eye care providers.  SCEH trains the Aadya, to teach community members how to protect their eyes from injury and infectious disease and to identify the symptoms of eye conditions requiring medical treatment.  The Aadya workers will conduct door-to-door screenings for epithelial (surface of the eye) defects that can lead to fungal, bacterial or viral keratitis.   When Aadya workers detect epithelial defects or the early symptoms of keratitis (e.g., eye pain, redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, excessive tearing, and eye discharge) they will refer patients to one of the thirteen vision centers (VCs) that SCEH operates in the district.  These vision centers will either treat the eye disease or refer patients requiring more extensive treatment to the  SCEH eye hospital in Saharanpur.

The secondary eye hospital in Saharanpur will additionally be equipped with a microbiology lab and support the training of technicians who can perform the lab tests necessary to confirm the diagnosis of keratitis (fungal) and prescribe a course of treatment.  The ultimate objective of this project is to diagnose and treat keratitis before a patient requires a corneal transplant.  If surgery is necessary,  seven ophthalmic surgeons at the secondary eye hospital will be trained in keratoplasty. SCEH has successfully developed and implemented an intense short course program specifically designed for experienced cataract surgeons to be trained in keratoplasty surgery. These surgeons will then go on to treat patients in some of the most rural and remote areas of India, where cornea surgery is typically not an option.