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Ramoji Foundation Supports a Dedicated Centre for Eye Infections at L V Prasad Eye Institute

The LVPEI-Ramoji Foundation Centre for Eye Infections will greatly benefit patients with ocular (eye) infections

Supported by the Ramoji Foundation, L V Prasad Eye Institute in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad now has a centre dedicated to treating patients with various eye infections - The Ramoji Foundation Centre for Eye Infections. While Cataract is the leading cause of blindness, eye infections caused by various organisms involving different parts of the eye is another major cause of blindness in India and many developing countries. Equipped with cutting-edge technology for the early diagnosis and management of patients with various eye infections, LVPEI is playing a leadership role globally in the field of ocular infections. This support provided by Sri Ramoji Rao, Chairman – The Ramoji Group and Founder - The Ramoji Foundation, will help LVPEI to further enhance its activities in this area and benefit many more people. 

Based on a study, nearly 1.5 million people lose sight every year due to severe infections of the cornea. In countries such as India, injuries in the workplace and agriculture injuries are the most common causes of infection, followed by malnutrition and harmful traditional practices. As most of these patients belong to the productive age group (40-60 years), it adds to the economic burden of the families.

During the past 18 months (January 2019 – October 2021), over 3800 patients with various kinds of eye infections (including corneal infections, infections in the back of the eye, and outer coats) were treated at the L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad. Last year, around 50 percent of the total corneal transplants performed at the Institute were to treat corneal infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a sudden surge of unique eye infections was caused by the black fungus (Mucormycosis), and LVPEI successfully managed nearly 500 patients referred from across India. The Institute regularly organizes several educational and training programs for ophthalmologists, microbiologists, and other eye care professions to build their capacities for early diagnosis and treatment of eye infections in patients. LVPEI is also leading research groups on infections and has published over 1000 publications in various high-impact peer-reviewed international Journals. 

'We are sincerely grateful to Sri Ramoji Rao for his generous contribution. Our focus will be on developing advanced molecular techniques for early diagnosis and cost-effective, minimally invasive surgical treatment to treat ocular infections in patients. A comprehensive system for screening and treating corneal infections in the LVPEI’s rural eye care network centres will be established. We will also collaborate with international institutes for carrying out in-depth research in the lesser-known eye infections and capacity building of eye care professionals,' said Dr Prashant Garg, Executive Chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute.

About LVPEI: Established in 1987, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness, is a comprehensive eye health facility. The Institute has ten functional arms to its areas of operations: Clinical Services, Education, Research, Vision Rehabilitation, Rural and Community Eye Health, Eye Banking, Advocacy and Policy Planning, Capacity Building, Innovation and Product Development. The LVPEI Eye Care Network has 236 Centres spread across the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka in India. The institute's mission is to provide equitable and quality eye care to all sections of society. The LVPEI’s five-tier ‘Eye Health Pyramid’ model covering all sections of society right from the villages to the city, provides high quality and comprehensive - prevention, curative and rehabilitation – eye care to all. It has served over 32.11 million (3 crore 21 lakh people), with more than 50% of them entirely free of cost, irrespective of the complexity of care needed.