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Volume 5 Journal of Pediatric Care
ISSN: 2471-805X
Page 10
April 23-24, 2019 London, UK
&
JOINT EVENT
23rd Edition of International Conference on Neonatology and Perinatology
4th International Conference on Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery
Neonatology 2019
Pediatrics Surgery 2019
April 23-24, 2019
Clare Gilbert, J Pediatr Care 2019, Volume 5
DOI: 10.21767/2471-805X-C1-019
Clare Gilbert
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
The third epidemic of blindness from retinopathy of prematurity: Where next?
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vaso-proliferative disease of preterm infants. Visual loss from ROP is potential
avoidable through strategies which reduce preterm birth, high quality neonatal care from immediately after birth
and screening infants at risk followed by timely treatment if indicated. The first epidemic of blindness due to ROP, which
occurred in the 1940s and 50s in the USA and Western Europe, came to end when the use of 100% supplemental was
curtailed. In the 1980s a second epidemic was described, which came about as a result of increasing survival of extremely
preterm infants. The third epidemic was first described in Latin America in the 1990s, arising as a consequence of
expansion of neonatal care and lack of awareness of the need for screening and treatment coupled with less than optimal
neonatal care. Over the last 20 years the epidemic has spread and is now affecting countries in South Asia, particularly
India. South Africa has already established a national ROP screening program, but blindness from ROP will increase in
other countries in the Africa region, as neonatal care services will inevitably expand. Policies, national guidelines, training
and greater awareness are urgently needed to prevent ROP blindness in this region.
Biography
Clare Gilbert is an Ophthalmologist with a Masters in Epidemiology and an MD in Surgical Retina. She has 28 years experience of research and education in
low and middle income countries and co-directs the International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her research interests
are blinding eye diseases of children: She has 300 peer reviewed publications, has written 24 book chapters and has received several awards for her work
including from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the International Council of Ophthalmology, L’Occitaine Foundation and the Royal National Institute for
the Blind’s Lifetime Achievement Award.