266 CHAPTER SEVEN TABLE 7-16. DISTRIBUTION OF TRACHOMA BY RELIGIOUS GROUP (NBS 1981) Estimated Population with Trachoma Estimated Prevalence per 100- Percentage of All Trachoma in Nepal Religious Group Sample N Hindu Buddhist Muslim or other Subtotal Missing religious group or trachoma status 36,541 2,091 913 39,545 858,044 46,221 5,279 909,544 94.3% 5,1 0.6 100.0 6.6 6.1 1.6 6.5 342 290 Total 39,887 909,834 6.5 100.0 Source: FR7.006.2.l AN.1 The largest differences in trachoma prevalence found among these three cultural measures was with respect to ethnic groups. A total of 72 distinct ethnic groups were identified by classification of family name (not by household self-report). The trachoma distribution for seven of these which have nearly 80 percent of the trachoma among them is shown in Table 7-17 and Figure 7.5. Brahmin and Chhetri ethnic groups (not necessarily identical to the castes) account for more than one-quarter of the trachoma in Nepal, or 244,484 cases, even though the prevalence rates for these groups are not particularly large (4.2 and 6.6 per 100, respectively). Among the remaining ethnic groups, the Magar, Thakure, and Tharu have notably large prevalence rates and account for nearly half (45.6%) of the trachoma in Nepal. The Tharu are indigenous to the West and Far West Terai and are often mentioned as particularly afflicted with trachoma. However, even though the prevalence rate is 27.8 per 100, a high prevalence, and an estimated 185,485 Tharus are trachomatous, not all Tharus have trachoma. Nor can one conclude that the Tharus are the only ethnic group for which interventions should be targeted. The Magars, with a prevalence rate of 15.0 per 100, and an estimated 189,323 cases, actually have as much trachoma as the Tharus, with more than one-fifth (20.6%) of all trachoma in Nepal. The Thakure ethnic group, al- though much smaller than the Magar or Tharu groups, has a high prevalence rate of 16.3 per 100 and 31,442 estimated cases. The Gurung, the Kami, and the other 65 ethnic groups account for somewhat more than one-quarter (27.8%) of the trachoma in Nepal. Generally the prevalence rates are less than the national
