Trachoma eliminated in Timor-Leste.

The elimination of Trachoma, a transmissible Bacterial disease which is thew world's leading infectious cause of blindness, in Timor-Leste (East Timor) has been confirmed by the World Health Organization, according to a press release issued on 3 September 2026. This conformation also marks the elimination of Trachoma across the Southeast Asia Region, with all other countries in that region either having previously eliminated the disease or never having suffered from it. The conformation is therefore a significant step on the way to the World Health Organization's goal of eliminating the disease worldwide by 2030.

The flag of Timor-Leste. Isabel Nolasco/Wikimedia Commons.

The announcement is the result of a campaign of screening which began on Atauro Island in 2015, and which has been rolled out to every region of the country. In 2025, a total of 4949 children aged 0-5 in all 13 municipalities of Timor-Leste did not find a single case of Trachoma, leading to the conclusion that the disease had been eliminated. The country does, however, plan to continue to monitor for Trachoma, and retain the ability to treat the disease.

Trachoma is caused by the Bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, and spread through contact with mucus emitted from the eyes and nose during infection, and can be spread by Flies. Infections are most common among children, and the disease can spread rapidly in overcrowded environments, particularly where sanitation is poor and access to clean water is limited. The Bacterium infects the inside of the eyelid, causing a roughening which can in turn lead to damage to the surface of the eye. Eventually the disease can lead to the eyelids turning inwards, blinding the patient. Infections are generally fought off fairly quickly, particularly in adults, but having been infected does not offer protection against future infections, and the damage caused by each infection is cumulative. Chlamydia trachomatis is vulnerable to the antibiotics azithromycin and tetracycline.

McCoy cell monolayer micrograph reveals a number of intracellular Chlamydia trachomatis inclusion bodies; Magnified 200 times. The intracellular inclusion body represents the replication phase of the Chlamydia spp. organisms, whereupon, the reorganised reticulate body multiplies through binary fission into 100-500 new reticulate bodies, which mature into elementary bodies. Eugene Arum/Norman Jacobs/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Wikimedia Commons.

Timor-Leste is the 33rd country to eliminate Trachoma as a public health risk, with the other countries being Algeria, Australia, Benin, Burundi, Cambodia, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu and Vietnam. Trachoma is one of twenty Neglected Tropical Diseases identified by the World Health Organization's Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021–2030, with 68 countries now having eliminated at least one of these diseases. 

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Over 300 flights cancelled following series of eruptions on Anak Krakatoa.

Over 300 flights have now been cancelled since Anak Krakatoa, a volcanic island located in the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java, began erupting on Friday 4 September 2026. The volcano has produced a series of volcanic columns, some of which have reached over 15 000 m above sealevel. This has led to ash falls across the region, with all flights from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, which is a little over 100 km to the east of the volcano, being cancelled. The Indonesian Ministry of Health is recommending people avoid going outside without dust masks due to the health hazard presented by the ash, which can cause severe breathing problems, and fishing fleets in the area are reportedly avoiding going to sea because of the poor conditions.

Drone footage of an ash column emerging from Anak Krakatoa on Saturday 5 September 2026. Reuters.

Volcanic ash is extremely hazardous to aircraft in a number of ways. At its most obvious it is opaque, both visually and to radar. Then it is abrasive, ash particles physically scour aircraft, damaging components and frosting windows. However the ash is most dangerous when it is sucked into jet engines, here the high temperatures can melt the tiny silica particles, forming volcanic glass which then clogs engine. When this happens the only hope the aircraft has is to dive sharply, in the hope that cold air passing through the engine during the descent will cause the glass to shatter, allowing the engine to be restarted. Obviously this is a procedure that pilots try to avoid having to perform.

Anak Krakatau is a volcanic island located in the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java. The volcano (then known simply as Krakatoa) famously exploded in 1883, killing over 36 000 people (possibly over 120 000), largely through a series of tsunamis. This explosion more-or-less completely destroyed the island, but since then a new volcano, Anak Krakatau (meaning the 'son of Krakatoa'), has grown in its place. Anak Krakatau is almost never completely quiet, but goes through periods of greater and lesser activity. An eruption on 22 December 2018 triggered a tsunami which tsunami caused over 430 fatalities, injured 14 000 people, and displaced 33 000 more along the Sunda Strait. The tsunami risk of this area is particularly high as the coast is very popular with both locals and tourists and is home to over 20 million people within a 100 km distance from the volcano.

Anak Krakatau is located to the north of the Sunda Trench, along which the Australian Plate is being subducted beneath the Sunda Plate, on which the island sits. As the Australian Plate is subducted it is partially melted by the friction and the heat of the planet's interior. Some of this melted material then rises through the overlying Sunda Plate, fuelling Krakatau and the volcanoes of Sumatra and Java.

The Subduction zone beneath Sumatra. NASA/Earth Observatory.

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