TRACHOMA 269 The relationship between occupation and trachoma is shown in Table 7-20. Since most persons gave their occupation as "agricul- ture" or "housework" or were classified as "children, retired, or unemployed," it is not surprising that 90.4 percent of the trachoma occurred in these three groups. Those involved in housework are likely to be female, and the prevalence rate of 7.4 per 100 for this group reflects a larger female contribution to the occupation class. Porters, although a small occupation class, have a higher trachoma prevalence rate than agriculture or housework groups, but they ac- count for only an estimated 20,007 trachoma cases and 2.2 percent of all trachoma. Occupation groups with expected higher educational levels (such as government service, students, and busi- ness). have lower prevalence rates than the other groups. TABLE 7-20. DISTRIBUTION OF TRACHOMA BY OCCUPATION (NBS 1981) Estimated Population with Trachoma Estimated Prevalence per 100 Percentage of All Trachoma in Nepal Sample N Occupation Agriculture Household work Service Student Porter Other work (including business) Child, elderly, or unemployed Subtotal Missing occupation or trachoma status 12,631 8,866 527 2,967 445 263,976 236,611 10,543 50,276 20,007 5.7 7.4 4.9 4.7 12.3 29.0% 26.0 1.2 5.5 2.2 716 6,497 2.3 0.7 13,441 39,593 321,359 909,270 7.0 6.5 35.4 100.0 294 5ti4 Total 39,887 909,834 6.5 100.0 Source: FR7.001.1 AN.11 In summary, the distribution of trachoma in Nepal is not uniform. The disease is highly clustered in the Far West Terai and Hill areas, especially in Bheri and Seti zones. At the same time, nearly half of all trachoma can be found in the hills and mountains indicating that trachoma is not a disease strictly found in the terai. In terms of person characteristics, females have a higher prevalence rate than males, while the distribution of trachoma by age is high
