The cataract situation in Suriname: an effective intervention programme to increase the cataract surgical rate in a developing country.

Aims: To provide an overview of cataract data in Suriname and to describe and evaluate a programme to control cataract blindness in a developing country.

Design: Evaluation of hospital data and findings from a population-based cross-sectional survey.

Methods: The implementation of a new cataract surgical intervention programme was described and retrospectively evaluated by analysing the number of cataract operations and other related indicators at the Suriname Eye Centre (SEC) in the period 2006-2014.

Diabetes and diabetic retinopathy in people aged 50 years and older in the Republic of Suriname.

Background/aims: Population-based surveys on diabetes and diabetic retinopathy (DR) are necessary to increase awareness and develop screening and therapeutic programmes. The aim was to estimate the prevalence of DR in older adults of different ethnic backgrounds in Suriname.

Methods: Fifty clusters of 60 people aged ≥50 years were randomly selected with a probability proportional to the size of the population unit.

Causes of severe visual impairment and blindness in children in the Republic of Suriname.

Aims: To determine the causes of severe visual impairment and blindness (SVI/BL) in children in Suriname (Dutch Guyana) and to identify preventable and treatable causes.

Methods: 4643 children under 16 years of age were recruited from two locations: 33 children attending the only school for the blind were examined and 4610 medical records were analysed at an eye clinic. Data have been collected using the WHO Prevention of Blindness Programme eye examination record for children.

Incidence of Alpha-Herpes virus induced ocular disease in Suriname.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection of the corneal stroma is the most prominent cause of scar formation impairing visual acuity and HSV keratitis is the leading cause of corneal opacity throughout the world. Suriname lacked test systems for microbial causes of ocular disease, therefore a polymerase chain reaction-based Herpes virus assay was introduced, enabling prompt recognition, and timely treatment, preventing progressive eye damage. The incidence and epidemiology of Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), type 2 (HSV-2), and varicella zoster virus (VZV) in ocular disease in Suriname was assessed.