One person goes blind every minute

One person goes blind every minute

YOGYAKARTA: At least one person goes blind every minute in the
country as a result of cataracts, glaucoma, and retina and cornea
disorders, a professor says.

Head of Eye Diseases at Gadjah Mada University's School of
Medicine, Soehardjo, said on Saturday that cataracts were the
main cause of blindness.

"Most blind people in Indonesia are poor people -- people who
are economically weak," Soehardjo said, adding that Indonesians
tended to suffer cataracts 15 years earlier on average than
people living in sub-tropical countries.

Data from the Sardjito Hospital in Yogyakarta reveals that 20
percent of people with cataracts in 2003 are below 55 years of
age and 20 percent between the ages of 21 and 55.

In 2003, the number of people with cataracts was estimated at
15.3 million. -- Antara