44. Golychev, V. Eye Diseases in Palestine. Kalinin Medical Institute, Kalinin, USSR. The Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
1991, 3 pp.

The author describes the distribution of eye diseases among 1,427 patients (2,652 eyes) which he examined during a six week visit in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip During 1991.

Of all the patients who were examined, 30.7% had conjunctivitis, 18.6% had refractive errors and accommodation disorders, 17.2% had cataracts or conditions following cataract removal and 5.1% had disorders of the retina.

Although the sample studied is not representative of the Palestinian population, the author concludes that the incidence of eye disease in Palestine is high. He also concludes that the main cause of blindness among the Palestinian population is corneal opacity which is mainly due to trachoma and congenital eye pathologies which, in turn are mainly due to marriages between relatives.